Professors
by GinFics
Summary: Five years after the Battle of Hogwarts, the Hogwarts professors have been totally re-staffed by none other than the Golden Trio and their classmates. Ever since the Battle, Hermione has been dating Ron, though things haven't been good between them in a long time. With Draco and Hermione heading up the school's Dueling Club, it's guaranteed to be an interesting year, indeed.
1. Professors

**Full Summary:**

_"So when are we going to acknowledge this, Granger?" He asked in a low voice, arms crossed as he eyed her with amusement._

_"Acknowledge what?" She asked evasively, shifting a little against the desk, heart rate speeding up on its own at the implication._

_His lip curled up into that signature smirk as he reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her close, "This thing between us."_

Five years after the Battle of Hogwarts, the Hogwarts professors have been totally re-staffed by none other than the Golden Trio and their classmates. Ever since the Battle, Hermione has been dating Ron, though things haven't been good between them in a long time. With Draco and Hermione heading up the school's Dueling Club, it's guaranteed to be an interesting year, indeed.

Slow-burn friendship to romance DM/HG (Dramione HEA) / Post-BoH compliant, DH epilogue not applicable. Rocky/Unhappy RW/HG in the beginning, rated M for sexual content in later DMHG chapters.

**Warning**: Ron/Hermione are together (unhappily) for a bit of this story but it is a background relationship as the DM/HG unfolds. I wanted to be upfront about that and I truly hope you enjoy the story!

**Chapter 1**: Professors

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Alright, everyone quiet down," Hermione said from the front of the Transfiguration classroom as her new first year students took their seats, "If you take a look up on the board, you'll find the syllabus for the year," she flicked her wand and the chalk started writing on the board, "Our first lesson will be a bit of background on the Magical uses of transfiguration and the theoreticals behind what we'll be doing this year. Next class we'll start with our first round of transfiguration spells."

There was a murmur of excitement that spread through the room and she couldn't help but smile, thinking back to her first class at Hogwarts, "Please take a few minutes to copy down the syllabus for your reference and we'll begin class when everyone is finished."

There was a quiet fluttering of parchment and quills as students began copying down notes. Hermione wandered the rows, acknowledging how different it was to be on the other side.

After the Battle of Hogwarts, she, Harry and Ron had returned to Hogwarts for their unofficial 7th year along with a slew of others from their class who wanted to redo the year outside of the reign of the Carrows. The Wizarding World had taken years to put itself back together, to fill positions at the Ministry and reinstall confidence in the government, to rebuild Hogwarts from the battle, and to heal from the losses.

After graduating from Hogwarts, a notice had gone around to the Wizarding community in England that the staff at Hogwarts had collectively decided that, in the aftermath of the war and trauma of working under the Carrows, many professors would be retiring from the school in the coming years. In the wake of turnover, many of the old students stepped up to take apprenticeships with the current professors to take over their positions, Harry, Ron and herself among the many willing witches and wizards. It was to be a one year crash course in teaching, like a graduate program, followed by a three year training period of shadowing the staff in their specific subjects and preparing to fill big shoes.

It was now five years after the Battle of Hogwarts and Hermione had officially taken over the professor position for Transfiguration, Harry had taken Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ron had taken over for Madam Hooch giving flying lessons and coordinating Quidditch, Ginny had stepped in for Charms, Neville in Herbology, Dean and Seamus in Muggle Studies and History of Magic, Luna in Divination, Ernie Macmillan in Astronomy, Hannah Abbott in Arithmancy, Padma Patil in Care of Magical Creatures and, surprisingly, Draco Malfoy in Potions. McGonagall was still Headmistress, and, much to everyone's dismay, Filch was still the caretaker with the help of Mrs. Norris.

"Professor Granger," an enthusiastic looking Hufflepuff named Patrick, who had introduced himself the minute he'd walked into the room, raised his hand.

"Yes, Patrick?" She asked, walking over.

"The Syllabus says we've got twelve inches due on element changing spells for our next class but I've already done it and it's closer to eighteen inches, is that alright?"

Hermione tried her hardest not to laugh. It was like listening to a younger version of herself on the first day of class, "That'll do just fine."

"Okay, I've no idea how I would ever cut parts out," he turned back to the chalk board and continued to write as Hermione resumed her pacing through the rows.

She'd been dating Ron since after the Battle of Hogwarts. They'd known for years that they had feelings for each other and it had been such a relief to have each other in that time of grief. He'd gone with her on the quest to find her parents and restore their memories. She'd been by his side at Fred's funeral. The Weasleys had taken her in like another of their own when Ron had introduced her as his girlfriend for the first time. Their relationship had been a ray of light in dark times.

Now… it had been years of a mostly content companionship with some hiccups along the way. Of course she loved him, she always had, but there hadn't been a spark for a long time. She sighed subconsciously. Ron had proposed at the end of the summer and she had accepted, it felt like it had always been the plan and it's what everyone expected. She always thought she'd cry tears of joy when she got engaged, and she hadn't; alternatively, they had shared some version of a hopeful smile that this was the right decision as he'd handed her the ring to put on. If she had to guess, he'd likely been urged by Mrs. Weasley to move things along because they hadn't really talked about an engagement at all before it happened.

She twirled the ring around her finger as she walked the classroom. They hadn't set a date yet because there was no rush and neither of them had taken the reigns on planning yet. Gods knew she'd be doing it all anyway. She was sure they would build a nice life together once they were married, though, that would probably force them to put aside their differences. He was still her best friend, underneath it all.

Harry and Ginny had also started dating after the Battle, getting engaged sooner than her and Ron and had been married a little over a year ago now. They were happy, ecstatic even, to be with each other. She'd never know two people to be as right for each other as they were. Ginny just _got_ Harry. She'd been possessed by Voldemort similar to how he'd been connected to him. She'd lost a brother like he'd lost parents. She was the only one, really, who knew how to take Harry in his down moments and turn it around before he even had the chance to sulk.

They just always seemed like the best versions of themselves together. And they didn't fight like her and Ron did. Not that she would ever compare her own relationship to anyone else's. She knew Ron cared for her very much, they just both forgot how to express it sometimes.

She thought about the other new professors; her old classmates. It was a welcomed reunion to see everyone together shaping the minds of a new generation. One that had lived through the same devastating times, but hadn't been quite old enough to grasp the full weight of the war, unless of course they had lost family members. It was a generation that, for the most part, could still find peace at night. Something the rest of them still had problems with.

The one addition to the staff that seemed to fill her thoughts more than others was Draco Malfoy. She hadn't expected to see him on the roster, but there he was. Another old classmate, Susan Bones, was supposed to take over the Potions position, but over the summer, her father had fallen ill and she had removed herself from the position. She hadn't heard much about Malfoy after the battle and he hadn't redone seventh year with the rest of them. However, she'd overheard Professor Slughorn talking about the new candidates that had applied to take over for him, and raving about Malfoy's skills. She'd even overheard McGonagall comment back that his N.E.W.T. scores had been exceptional in the subject as well, which made her wonder if Malfoy had taken his seventh year classes and N.E.W.T.s away from Hogwarts. A few days later the staff had been informed that he had been extended the offer, and had accepted. Ron had groaned, Harry had looked curious.

Malfoy had been exonerated in the Death Eater trials, Harry testifying on behalf of him and his mother. Lucius had been sent to Azkaban to do a six year sentence, meaning he was likely due to be released next summer, but Draco and his mother had returned to the Manor, unscathed. They had all watched him walk away from the Battle, Harry insisting he'd only came after him in the Room of Requirement to try and get his wand back and not to thwart their horcrux hunt. They had all attended his trial. She had seen him standing behind a tree at Fred's funeral and had watched him walk up to the grave as they walked away. She didn't think anyone else had noticed him there. But they had all seen the remorse in the conflicted boy. And then he had disappeared. He had retreated to the Manor and not many people had heard from him since, albeit through whispers of those who saw him popping in and out of town once in a while.

Tonight was their first staff meeting and Hermione was quite intrigued to see how it would play out.

"If you've all finished up with your notes, we can get started with the lesson," she had reached the front of the room again and looked around as most of the students were setting down their quills.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Good evening, Professors," came the voice of Headmistress McGonagall as everyone in the room quieted. She stood up in front and looked around at them all, "So good to see all of you here in this capacity. It's been a long few years of apprenticeships but now, the minds of our Hogwarts students are yours. For better or worse," she smiled and a few chuckles echoed.

"I'd like to introduce you to your newest colleague, who of course you all already know. Mr. Malfoy, if you'd like to stand up."

Draco glanced around the room, his face expressionless, before standing up.

"Mr. Malfoy will be taking over for Professor Slughorn in Potions. As you all know, Susan had to return home for a family emergency and Mr. Malfoy was one of the first to apply for the position," she gave him a nod and he sat back down.

"Now, it's not just professor positions we've had to fill, but also heads of house and extracurriculars. I've gone through the process of determining who will be helping out with what this year and we'll just see how it goes," she eyed the group, "Heads of House will be Ms. Granger for Gryffindor, Mr. Macmillan for Hufflepuff, Ms. Lovegood for Ravenclaw, and Mr. Malfoy for Slytherin," there were a few whispers and McGonagall cleared her throat, "Now for our extracurriculars, Mr. Weasley, you will obviously be handling all Quidditch related items such as team practices, match scheduling, etc., and I've also got you heading up our Wizards Chess club. We'll be hosting the Dueling Club again and I've assigned Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy to that. We'll also be continuing our school choir…"

She was still talking, but Hermione didn't catch the next few things she said. She had been paired up with Malfoy to host the Dueling Club. Mcgonagall would be lucky if her and Malfoy didn't duel _each other._ Did she forget they were school rivals? Did she want a bad example set for the students?

"Ms. Granger?"

Hermione blinked a few times, "Sorry, Headmistress, what was that?"

"I asked if you had any objections to the weekly Head of House meetings," McGonagall was looking at her curiously.

"Of course not," she smiled, "Makes perfect sense. I can take the lead on setting those up and preparing agendas."

"Wonderful," McGonagall said, turning back to her list of items to address.

Hermione glanced over at Draco who was in back of her a couple of rows. It looked like he was rolling his eyes. She turned back around, already annoyed with him. As much as she wanted to think the war had changed him, maybe she'd been mistaken.

It was going to be a long year, indeed.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N: Here we GO! Hi all! I've been working on this story for a few months now and am probably about 3/4 the way through writing but have been getting antsy to start posting. To anyone who's read The Look on the Platform, thanks for coming back! Obviously this story is going to be a bit different than that one — I was in the mood to write something with more fun and drama, so this is not going to be the same kind of adventure/suspense story. If you're not as into it, I completely understand and thank you for stopping in and checking this out!**

**To anyone who hasn't read The Look on the Platform, it's a story I finished at the end of the summer and if you're looking for a good long read, I would love if you gave it a shot! **

**I'll be editing and posting chapters for Professors a couple of times a week so I won't leave you hanging too long :) I hope you enjoy, please leave a review if you've got a minute! Xx**


	2. The Dueling Club

**Chapter 2**: The Dueling Club

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The Dueling Club was set to meet once a week on Tuesdays. Head of House meetings were Monday nights. Full staff meetings were on Thursdays, Weekly Quidditch captain meetings for scheduling with Ron were on Wednesdays evenings and Quidditch matches were set for the last Friday of each month. The new schedule was going to make it difficult for Hermione and Ron to get much quality time together, but they'd have the weekends at least. Although they already had plans to spend the first weekend back at Hogwarts with the other professors in Hogsmeade. But there would be plenty of other weekends.

It was Tuesday, the second day of school, which meant that evening would be the first Dueling Club, which was set to meet in the DADA classroom as it had the largest floor space. Hermione had put together a _suggested_ lesson plan for the club's first meeting, although she was sure it would be met with opposition from Malfoy. She entered the classroom fifteen minutes early and was the first one there. She only remembered the one meeting she had attended ran by Lockhart and Snape in second year so she felt it better to structure like the Dumbledore's Army meetings instead.

She raised her wand and moved all of the desks to the side walls, leaving a large open area in the center. She had brought a few large, plush pillows, which she placed on opposite ends of the room in seven rows, planning to split the students by year. She heard the door open and turned to look, bracing for her first interaction with Malfoy. To her surprise, it was Patrick.

She smiled at him, "Good evening, Patrick, are you going to be joining the Dueling Club?"

"When I heard you were in charge I just had to join, Professor," he said excitedly as the door opened again behind him, "My parents told me all about how you and Professor Potter and Mr. Weasley fought together against you-know-who. Who could pass up lessons from a hero!"

"As famous as Potter these days," came the drawl of Draco Malfoy from the doorway.

Hermione took a deep breath before looking up to meet his eye, "Professor Malfoy," she greeted him, "It's been a while."

"Never long enough," he said with a hint of jest as he brushed past her.

She felt the urge to roll her eyes, but this wasn't the place for it, "Well, I'm happy you'll be joining us, Patrick. We'll get started in about ten minutes if you want to read over some of the cards I've left at the first year pillows. They're flash cards of the dueling spell we'll focus on today as well as the protection charm."

"Cool!" He said, turning and heading towards the pillows.

Hermione walked over to Draco, who was leaning against the desk in the front of the classroom, "We're going to have to put our rivalries behind us if we're going to make a good impression for the students," she said quietly, but firmly.

"I was just joking around, Granger, calm down," he looked pointedly in the opposite direction.

"I don't think you _were_ joking and it wasn't appreciated," she said shortly.

He sighed, annoyed with her now, "It was sarcasm. I walked into the room to a reminder that I'm surrounded by Battle of Hogwarts heroes, give me a damn break."

His statement caught her off guard for a moment as they stared at each other before the door opened again and a few more students entered. She shook her head, refocusing, "Look, we've got a job to do so let's do our best to work together for the sake of the students."

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Don't worry, I've no intention of losing my job."

"Good," she cleared her throat awkwardly, "Well I had some ideas of how we could go about running meetings. Since we haven't had a chance to meet yet to discuss what we would do, I thought maybe I could just run it how I'm used to and you can give me your feedback on any changes you want to make."

"That's fine," he shrugged, clearly doing his best to put personal feelings aside.

"Alright, great," she gave him a nod before she turned from him, taking a deep breath to go greet the students that had entered and directing them to their places.

When everyone had been placed at the correct pillows, Hermione stood up in front of the classroom, next to Draco, "Welcome everyone to your first Dueling Club meeting. For those of you that haven't met us, I'm Professor Granger, and this is Professor Malfoy and we'll be running the club meetings," she scanned the room of students, "It looks like we've got about 30 of you in total so it should be a great learning opportunity. For reference, we were just assigned as the leaders of this group last night so we'll be a bit more prepared for future lessons. For today, I thought it would be good to start with a standard curse and protection charm, which you'll practice against other students in your year. We'll do a quick demonstration and then we'll walk around the room as everyone takes turns practicing the curse on one side and protection charm on the other. Once you've participated in one, you can move to the back of the line opposite you."

One of the third year students raised their hand, "Yes?" Hermione asked.

"Professor Granger, I was just wondering if we'd be doing any competitions or anything in this club?"

"I think that would be fun," Hermione said, looking over at Draco, whose expression was that of passive interest, "For the first couple of meetings I think we'll work on showing you some spells and practicing, and then how about for our last meeting of every month we'll have a competition with an award for the winners in each year."

There was an excited murmur in the classroom and Hermione chanced another glance at Draco, whose lip had curled up in a bit of a grin at the response. For some reason his approval made her feel good about the decision and she turned back to the room of students, "Okay, so first, Professor Malfoy and myself will demonstrate the Stupify curse and Protego protection charm."

Draco pushed himself off the desk and they turned to face each other.

"The first step in a duel is to meet in front of each other with your wands raised," she and Draco raised their wands in front of them, about a foot apart, "And then you turn and walk three strides," they both lowered their wands to their sides before turning to walk their paces and facing each other again, "And now, as is normal in a real battle, you're not going to always know when the attack is coming, so we won't be counting down or anything. You'll learn with time and practice that body language can tell you a lot about when someone is going to attack."

They stood calculating each other for a good few seconds before Hermione raised her wand and Draco mirrored her.

"_Stupify_!" She yelled and he flicked his wand, "_Protego_!" A beam of red light flew at Malfoy and was deflected.

Hermione turned back to the students, whose faces were lit up at the action, "You'll find the wand motions more clearly articulated on the flash cards at your stations. Give it a go and remember even if you get hit, we've got pillows down to catch you. This is practice so just do your best and we'll walk around to correct where we can."

The room burst into conversation as students studied the flash cards and got into position for their first try.

"Going to have to be a bit quicker," Draco said, his tone more conversational as he resumed his position against the desk next to her, "Wasn't even a challenge."

"We were just demonstrating for the class," Hermione replied, "I wanted you to be able to defend that."

"Whatever you want to tell yourself. I'm going to walk around and see how they're doing."

The remainder of their first meeting was successful as they wandered separately, correcting wand movements and pronunciations where necessary. Hermione found herself glancing over at Draco throughout the evening, almost expecting him to be scoffing at his duties, but was relieved to see that he seemed to at least take teaching seriously. As the students left for the evening, Hermione started cleaning up the pillows. Draco had settled back at the front of the classroom and was looking through the flashcards Hermione had stacked together.

"When did you even have time to make these?" He said without looking up.

"Last night after the staff meeting," she said, trying her best to be cordial, unsure what to expect from him.

"Looks like you were up all night preparing."

"I was up a while," she conceded, "Don't sleep much these days."

Draco hummed in acknowledgement, nodding his head.

"Would you like to plan to meet on Mondays after the Head of House meetings to go through our Dueling Club plans?" she asked, trying to make conversation while she levitated pillows into a bin.

"Seventh year NEWTs Potions classes are first thing Tuesday morning," Draco said, turning one of the cards over in his hand, "I'd prefer to prepare for these on Sundays, around 8pm, and we can meet here. Gives me time to revise lesson plans last minute on Mondays if I need to for my own classes."

"Oh, um, yes we could do that," she didn't love the idea of carving out weekend time to spend with Malfoy, but did appreciate that he was willing to make something work to prepare together.

"Wonderful," he said a bit sarcastically, setting the cards down and walking towards the door, "See you Sunday then."

With that, he left Hermione to finish stowing the pillows and putting the desks back in their places before she turned in for the evening. She returned back to her room to find Ron lounging on the couch flipping through a Quidditch magazine.

"How was your day?" she asked, setting her bag down on the table.

"Fine," he shrugged, "Nothing exciting. Couple of first years got their brooms into their hands today," he turned the page, not looking up.

"Progress," she commented, walking into the small kitchen they were given as professors and pouring herself a glass of water, "Well my first Dueling Club meeting went well," she said after a minute, "Malfoy wasn't pleasant but he wasn't terrible. Couple snide remarks but that's all."

"That's right, forgot you had that," he said, looking up with mild intrigue.

"Well where do you think I've been," she said with an incredulous chuckle.

"Wasn't sure," he said honestly, "Figured you'd be back eventually."

She glanced up at him with a bit of annoyance but he was already looking at his magazine again.

"Well I'm going to do some reading in bed, would you like to join me?" she asked.

"That's okay, I'm reading a good article here."

"Alright well I'm sure I'll still be up for a while," she said, "But if not, goodnight."

"Night, Hermione," he gave her a quick halfhearted smile as she walked into the bedroom, closing the door.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	3. Hogsmeade

**Chapter 3**: Hogsmeade

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The first week flew by, it always did. As they rolled into their first weekend, the new staff couldn't wait for some time alone in Hogsmeade. They'd rented out a room in the back of the Three Broomsticks and left the castle together. Hermione noticed that Malfoy wasn't there and felt the tiniest amount of guilt, wondering if anyone had thought to invite him. The staff that had been there for apprenticeships the last few years had all planned this outing at the end of the previous school year as a celebration for officially taking over their posts as professors. She put it to the back of her mind, it's not like he would have wanted to go anyway.

Ron walked up beside her, their arms awkwardly dangling next to each other, still talking with Dean and Seamus about the most recent Cannons match against the Wasps.

Luna walked up on her other side, "Hermione, I heard you and Ron will be expressing vows of love soon. Very happy times."

"Oh, yes," she forced a smiled at her, "Yes, Ron proposed a couple of weeks ago."

"You must be overjoyed," she looked at her dreamily, "Do you have plans for the gathering yet?"

"Um, no, not yet, lots of details to discuss so we've been tackling the small stuff first."

"Oh, like a date?"

"Well, not that yet, but I'm sure we'll pick one soon."

"I'm sure it will be exactly as you hope. How was the rest of your holiday?"

"It was very nice," she said, happy to have a change in subject, "I went and spent some time with my parents in Spain while Ron and Harry did a trip around England for some Quidditch matches."

"Sounds lovely," Luna said airily, "Spain does have a nice bloom this time of year."

"How was your holiday, Luna?"

"Quiet. Neville and I planted a garden out back of my dad's house. The gnomes were very happy with our choices, I think."

"You didn't degnome the garden?" Hermione asked, thinking back on the degnoming they did at the Weasley's one summer.

"Of course not, it's their home! We'd be intruding if we tried to kick them out, wouldn't we?" She laughed.

They arrived at the Three Broomsticks and everyone spread out along the large table in the back room. They ordered food and butterbeer and settled in for an afternoon of sharing stories and enjoying the time away from their new students.

"I heard one of the first years went rogue on their broom the other day," Seamus said to Ron with a laugh.

"Oh yeah, took off like a bullet. Had no idea what he was doing."

"Did you go up and help him out?" Hermione asked.

"Nah, thought it'd be a good learning lesson for him," he grinned at Seamus.

"You should really keep a close watch on them, someone could hurt themselves if they don't know what they're doing."

"Merlin, Hermione, it's really not a big deal," Ron rolled his eyes, "I know _you're_ scared of flying, but it's not that dangerous."

Hermione bit her tongue, sitting back in her chair and not wanting to get into it around the other professors.

"Harry, I heard the Auror Department was still trying to get you to change your mind about starting as a professor," Dean called across the table.

"Yes, they like to send a nice monthly owl to see how I'm doing these days," he nodded, "I keep telling them I'd like to do this for a few years before I think about being an Auror, but they are relentless."

Neville leaned over across Luna to talk to Hermione, "Weird seeing Malfoy show up, huh?"

"Quite," she said, "We're running the Dueling Club together."

"How's it been so far?"

"Better than I expected, but it's a bit tense."

"You just let us know if he starts calling you names or anything," Neville said valiantly.

She paused, "I don't think he will. He hasn't really been mean. If anything I'd say he was uncomfortable. Made a comment about how we're all Battle of Hogwarts heroes."

"I imagine it's difficult for him to be here after being on the other side," Luna chimed in, "He probably feels alone."

The statement hit Hermione a little harder than she was sure Luna meant it to, but the girl was probably very correct. He'd come to teach at a school where not only did he not have any friends, but he was surrounded by mostly Gryffindors that knew he had sided with Voldemort during the war until he'd been able to safely walk away. Not to mention surrounded by students who may or may not know some portion of his history. She realized in that moment that he was either very brave or very arrogant to even consider a return to the school. She made a mental note to herself to at least try to give him a second chance and remember what he was already up against.

"Well, we're all here to support you, Hermione," Neville reiterated, "But hopefully it'll just get easier."

The group chatted through the afternoon, drinking a few too many butterbeers that turned into firewhiskeys as afternoon turned to evening. Hermione and Seamus were sitting at one of the booths, talking about some of the going-ons in the Muggle world they'd heard about from their parents over the summer. His father had given him a cell phone, which he laughed about as he and his mother had told him a hundred times that electronics didn't work in the wizarding world, but he'd insisted _for emergencies_. Some of the boys were standing over by the bar area talking about Quidditch and Luna and Neville were currently whispering to each other in the corner.

Hermione looked over at Ron, who was taking down his third or fourth firewhiskey, as he slammed his glass passionately onto the bar, "You're daft if you think the Magpies have a chance agains' the Cannons," he said to Dean, "Their seeker couldn't spot a snitch even if it landed on 'is bloody nose."

"The Cannons haven't had a good Keeper in seven years, Ron, you're more likely to lose in goals regardless. It's like watching Ireland vs. Bulgaria every game."

"He's _up an' comin_'," Ron slurred, his eyes looking heavy.

"You can't be 'up and coming' for four seasons," Dean laughed, pushing Ron's shoulder jokingly. Ron stumbled back a step and Dean grabbed his upper arm, "Whoops, sorry mate, maybe time we all head back up to the school."

"No way, I'm fiiine," Ron grinned, batting Dean's hand away .

Hermione sighed, excusing herself from Seamus to go coax Ron into leaving. He'd had an affinity for getting carried away with his drinking lately.

"Ronald, Could we head back up, it's getting late," she said to him, Harry pulling Dean away to tell him about the Quidditch circuit they did over the summer and all of the match ups.

"Hermione, I'm fiiine," he said again, waving her off.

"I know you are, but I'm ready to head back, will you please come with me?"

"Ready to kill the party already," he muttered under his breath and Hermione closed her eyes for a moment, he was drunk and he didn't know what he was saying, "Alrigh', fine, I'll walk you back up."

Once they announced they were leaving, most of the others agreed that it was time to head in, leaving Neville, Luna, Ginny and Ernie as the last ones at the bar. Harry had asked if she wanted him to help her and she pitter pattered enough for him to know she wanted him to, but wouldn't ask. Ginny had given Harry a kiss goodbye and he'd told her to have a lovely time before he joined Hermione to help get Ron back up to the castle. Harry had been there a lot when Ron had slipped into his drinking, or when Ron and Hermione had gotten into some of their bigger fights and he knew when it was, and wasn't, his place to get involved. In this case, Hermione was very appreciative of his help, as he distracted Ron with more Quidditch talk so they didn't end up getting in a row over leaving the bar.

Ron had passed out on the bed as soon as they'd gotten him back up to the castle, and Harry dropped onto the couch in the living room. Hermione got them each a large glass of water and curled up on the opposite side.

"That was sweet of you to come up with us when I'm sure you wanted to stay with Ginny tonight, please tell her I'm sorry for dragging you away," Hermione told him.

"You didn't drag me, it looked like you could use me tonight. She was just having a nice time and I didn't want to pull her away. She understands."

"I wish neither of you understood," Hermione said quietly, "I know our relationship can be a bit much sometimes."

"We all know you love each other," Harry told her, "You're entitled to having your own ups and downs."

"I just hate that fear of us getting in a fight in front of everyone, feels like a matter of time."

"I know," Harry gave her a crooked smile, "It's tough to see you fight because we love you both, but we'll always support you. Maybe once you're married it will calm down. The year of wedding planning is always a tough one. Ginny and I got quite annoyed with each other throughout the process. It all settled once the pressure of the event was off."

Hermione nodded slowly, knowing deep down that their frustrations had nothing to do with wedding planning.

"What do you think of Malfoy being back?" She asked him.

Harry thought for a moment, "I'm glad, in a way, to see him here. I vouched for him at his trial and I think I feel a bit validated seeing him trying to make something of his life."

"Have you interacted with him at all?"

He nodded, "Yes, Quidditch house leaders met on Wednesday. He was decently quiet, but cordial, to both Ron and I."

"He was cordial with me as well," she said, "Made a couple comments early on, but he tried to backtrack and change his attitude. Doesn't seem like he wants the drama we all used to have."

"I think everyone deserves a chance to move on from the war," Harry said quietly.

"I felt the same, actually," she said, "I got the feeling he regretted his role in it all, by the end of it."

"I wouldn't have testified at his trial if I didn't see it too."

She wanted to ask if he'd seen Draco at Fred's funeral, but it felt like something personal that wasn't hers to tell, "Alright, well I was just curious how he's been with others since he arrived."

Harry stayed a while longer as they talked on the couch. Neither of them was going to sleep much anyway, so they may as well be awake together. He finally left in the early hours of the morning, giving Hermione a big hug and wondering if Ginny would be back yet. Hermione had fallen asleep on the couch for a few hours before the sounds of Ron stumbling around the bedroom and knocking a lamp off the bedside table had woken her up.

The day dawned with a certain sense of nervousness for Hermione, thinking about her meeting with Malfoy later in the day. Every time she checked the clock, the hands seemed to move faster. As eight o'clock loomed, she sighed, bidding goodbye to Ron, who was listening to a radio show at the table still nursing his hangover, and headed for the DADA classroom.

She pushed the door open to see Malfoy already there, writing something down on a piece of parchment.

"Evening, Malfoy," Hermione said as she walked in and closed the door.

"Granger," he responded, finishing up what he was writing.

"How was your weekend?" she asked, trying to fill the time while she took out parchment and quills.

"Uneventful," he responded shortly, moving to sit on top of the desk across from her.

"Some of us went out to Hogsmeade on Saturday," Hermione said, "Nice to be able to go on our own time."

"As I heard it almost everyone went," Draco raised his eyebrows at her.

"Yes, um, sorry if you weren't invited but it was a plan we all made at the end of last year. You should come to the next social gathering in October," she offered politely.

"No matter, Potter actually invited me, I just didn't want to go."

"Oh," she tilted her head a little, "Glad he mentioned it."

"Have a feeling he was just trying to make small talk while we waited for Weasley to get to the Quidditch Pitch on Wednesday," he leaned back on his hands, looking bored now, "House Quidditch leaders had to be at the first meeting for the season. Just student team captains will go for the rest of the year. One less thing on my list."

Hermione sat down at the desk and dipped her quill in its ink before she looked back up at him, "Well we're here to discuss the Dueling Club plans, so let's get to it, shall we?"

"Ready when you are," he nodded.

Hermione cleared her throat a little, "So we did Stupify last week. I was thinking the next couple weeks we could do Petrificus Totalus, Levicorpus, maybe Bombarda?"

"How about Expelliarmus?" Draco suggested, "Isn't that Potter's favorite?"

Hermione _almost_ laughed, "Right, yes, good one to add early on."

"Bombarda might be a bit much for the classroom, also," Draco mused, "Not sure McGonagall wants us blowing stuff up in here."

Hermione flicked her eyes up at him, "I mean I would have put protections around whatever we were aiming at but alright, that's probably fair, we'll replace it."

They spent another half hour deciding the order of the spells and preparing the flashcards for Tuesday's meeting. As they were packing their things to leave, Hermione looked over at Draco, "You really should come with us next time we go out on a weekend," she said, trying to extend an olive branch for their time working together, "It's good to get out with the other professors."

"I didn't come here to make friends," he said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Well then why did you apply to teach at Hogwarts," she asked, her voice soft as she slung her bag over her shoulder, the question had been burning in her since he'd arrived.

He hesitated a moment before meeting her gaze, "It wasn't fully my choice."

"Oh," she considered him, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "Who made you apply then?"

He looked at her as his eyes hardened, "I shouldn't have even mentioned it, Granger. It's really no concern of yours," he picked up his bag and walked towards the door, "See you tomorrow."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

As he walked back to the dungeons he couldn't quite shake the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. She sounded like she cared. Like she really wanted to understand why he was there. He knew it wouldn't make his life any easier to push everyone away, but it was hard to see their questions and invitations as anything more than curiosity, or sympathy at best. He'd already caused enough issues in their lives to-date to think he had the chance of actually being accepted. Obviously he'd been harsh in his response. He'd try to work on that, but it's all he knew. When a Malfoy is faced with something uncomfortable, you turn your emotions _off_.


	4. The First Competition

**Chapter 4**: The First Competition

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Monday's classes went by quickly as she walked her students through some of the different elements that made transfiguration more complex. She'd demonstrated something simple, the teacup into a mouse trick, and something a little more difficult, turning the mouse into a cat. She'd explained how going from single-cell to multi-cell transfiguration placed more importance on the accuracy of the wand movements and incantation pronunciation. She then walked around and watched as they put into practice her teachings for the first time.

She was starting to learn more names this week, making it a point to say each students' name when they raised their hand and having them tell her something about themselves. She got the feeling her students liked her so far, which felt nice. It seemed Patrick had made a friend, which made her heart swell; a sweet girl from Ravenclaw named Erica Copper, who had taken the seat next to him this week.

Some of the others she'd remembered so far was a group of boys named Zachary, Gabriel and Marcus, who were sixth year Gryffindors that reminded her of the stories Harry had told her of the Mauraders. They were a handful, but good natured. There were a couple of Slytherins she'd gotten less positives vibes from, but she hadn't learned to put names to their faces yet. However, she was trying not to be prejudiced against the Slytherins; there had been a few sixth years she'd taught that had been nothing but pleasant, if not the slightest bit cocky about their abilities. One of them was named Fiona; she raised her hand a lot and was always quick on the uptake with new spells. She found herself wondering what made Fiona a Slytherin, but reminded herself again that being a Slytherin didn't mean someone was evil, it could just be a nod to their ambition.

Monday night was the first Head of House meeting, which she had prepared a brief agenda for. As she entered the room, Luna was already there, sitting with her hands clasped in front of her at a desk staring off thoughtfully across the room.

"Hi Luna," Hermione greeted her, "How are you tonight?"

"Oh I'm lovely," she smiled, "Just thinking about my last class this evening. Kids have the most interesting minds. I asked them about their theories on divination. They all had opinions, even if they don't believe in it much."

Hermione wished she could be a part of Luna's divination class, just to get a glimpse of how she interacted with the students. Luna would always be one of Hermione's favorite humans for her ability to live her life outside of the realm of judgment, not that she believed half of what came out of her mouth, "What do _you_ think of divination?"

Luna considered her, "Well, I'm not sure what to think of it. We all know prophecies are real and I believe the centaurs have an eye for the stars, but as an everyday practice, I don't think it's all that reliable."

"Why did you choose to teach it then?" Hermione asked with a small laugh.

"Because that's the best way to learn such an imprecise practice, isn't it? From someone with the same skepticism as you. Then you can all look at the facts logically."

Hermione certainly couldn't disagree with that, since she herself thought divination was a bit of a joke, at least taught by Trelawney, "Spoken like a true Ravenclaw."

The door opened and Draco walked in, Ernie behind him.

"Evening," she said to them as they sat down at a couple of the desks near Luna.

"Evening Hermione," Ernie said, and Draco nodded at her.

"Alright, so the agenda is decently short tonight, not too much to discuss yet as term's just started," she handed out a piece of parchment to each of them along with a pamphlet, "You'll find a reminder of curfews times on there, something to share with your students if you haven't already. As Heads of House, it's important to go over the safety manuals that we each received, in case there's ever an attack or other event that occurs. If any of us ever have any unusual circumstances with students or other professors, I think we should also remember to utilize each other for suggestions and sounding boards. We're all new to this, so we'll be each others' best resources."

They went over some of the materials and duties for Heads of House before Hermione called the meeting twenty minutes later, suggesting they all come back the following week with an idea for a mixer for all of the houses, wanting one of their goals to be promoting house unity. Luna and Ernie left, but Draco lagged behind a moment as Hermione straightened the desks back out.

"Granger," he finally said, prompting her to turn around.

"Sorry Malfoy, I didn't realize anyone was still here."

"It's fine," he said, getting straight to the point, "For the Dueling Club, I'd like to lead this week."

It wasn't a question, but more of a statement. Nevertheless, Hermione found herself somewhat intrigued and impressed with his want to be more involved. Maybe she had underestimated him after all.

"Alright," she nodded, "Do you still want to use the flashcards or did you have another idea?"

"No, I like the flashcards. I'd just prefer if we took turns leading the meetings so I'm not just the background professor. I know you like being in charge, but so do I."

Hermione tried not to let her intrigue show on her face, "That's fair. You can take this week. I think it's great that you want to take a bigger role with the club and the students. I wasn't sure you wanted to be a part of it at all, I was just trying to make it easier for both of us."

"I like teaching," he said simply, "Nothing more to it than that. See you at Dueling Club."

With that, he left the room, Hermione watching after him with a small smile on her face.

Draco took a deep breath as he shut the door behind him. Why was she so difficult to hold his expressionless demeanor with? He'd turned everything off for years but she was getting under his skin. Not in a bad way; on the contrary, it was almost… calming the way she talked to him and looked at him like she wanted to see something deeper. But it was unnerving because he didn't know why she seemed to care. He wasn't someone to care about.

He had an internal deliberation all the way back to his room until he came to the conclusion that he would have to try and let down his guard; shed his cold exterior around her, or else he knew he'd have to deal with this uncomfortable feeling of her putting in a one-way effort. It seemed she was trying to give him a fresh start of sorts and he realized that wasn't a commodity he had the liberty to waste.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

When Hermione arrived to the DADA classroom the next evening, Draco was there, reading a letter at the front of the classroom, the room all set up for the students.

"Looks nice," she commented.

"Well I've got to live up to your first meeting, haven't I?" He said with a sigh, rolling up the parchment in his hand and sticking it in his pocket. It already felt odd to try and be more relaxed around her, but he'd promised himself he would, and he did pride himself on being quite personable when he wanted to be.

She wasn't sure if he meant it how she took it, but it almost seemed like a compliment, "Good luck with that," she said smoothly, joining him at the front and setting her bag down.

He looked over at her with the hint of a surprised grin on his face, her welcoming nature made this easier than he'd anticipated, "Alright, challenge accepted. Prepare yourself for an outstanding club meeting."

His smugness lacked the bite he used to have and she looked back at him with a similar expression, "Can't wait to see how you make Expelliarmus the next cool spell." She'd gladly accept a pleasant Draco, no questions asked.

He shrugged, "It's more about the overall experience."

She shook her head with a small laugh, starting to feel a little more relaxed in his presence, "How are your classes going so far?"

"Fine," he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "Would have been nice to do the apprenticeship like everyone else, but Slughorn gave me some general outlines he used to use. Of course I've changed them up a bit to my preferences."

"It was certainly helpful watching for a few years before we had to take over," she said, wondering what in the world she would have done if she'd just walked in and took the reigns one day with no background, "Did you apply originally for the position? Before they gave it to Susan?"

Draco looked at her incredulously, "Fresh out of my Death Eater trial? No, I didn't. I applied when I heard the post was open again, after my mother reminded me for the tenth time."

"Right, sorry," Hermione said with a tinge of embarrassment for bringing up an uncomfortable subject, but also taking note that he had mentioned his mother. Perhaps she'd been the one that had wanted him to come back.

The door opened and a few of the third year Ravenclaws walked in. Most looked familiar from the prior week, but one or two of them were new. Hermione walked over to her bag, shuffling some papers around to kill the time before enough students were there to get started. Once the pillows were surrounded by students, as the clock hit eight, Draco took a deliberate step forward, "Evening everyone," he said. Hermione noticed his voice was casual, but authoritative, "Looks like almost everyone from last week has returned and we've got a few new students so you must have enjoyed the lesson," there were some happily nodding heads in the crowd as he continued, "Tonight we'll be practicing Expelliarmus, which you should be able to defend again with the Protego protection charm. Professor Granger and I will demonstrate," he turned to her, "Granger, if you want to attack, I'll defend again."

"Of course, Professor," she said with a wry smile. He clearly didn't know Expelliarmus was one of her specialties as well, being such good friends with Harry.

They met in the middle of the room, raising their wands and lowering them again before turning and walking three paces. Their stances were calculating again as the room was silent.

"_Expelliarmus_!" She shouted.

"_Pro_-," but he wasn't fast enough. Her spell had been fierce and direct and his wand flew out of his hand, landing behind him. He gave a sigh and shook his head, turning to grab his wand as some of the students cheered from the crowd.

Hermione leaned back against the desk, a self-satisfied look on her face as Draco returned to the center of the room. His eyes met hers and he looked amused, but he addressed the students again, "Wanted to give you a good example of what that spell would do," he said with his head high, "You can take a look at the flashcards at your pillows and split up onto both sides to give it a go."

There was a scuffle of feet as everyone moved to their pillows and prepared themselves.

"I wanted you to hit me with that one," Draco said once everyone was talking amongst themselves.

"Whatever you want to tell yourself," she quoted him from their first meeting, pushing herself off the desk to wander the room. He looked after her, impressed with her wit, something he had certainly never credited her for in the past. He'd thought working with know-it-all Granger would be a drag, but at least she seemed to have a decent sense of humor. And she didn't seem to want to bring up his past, which is what he'd been most apprehensive about. He wandered into the sea of students, watching as one of the sixth year Hufflepuffs got a good hit on one of their Gryffindor classmates.

"Nice one, Jacob!" The girl behind him congratulated him. Draco tried not to laugh at the girl's obvious flirting tactics, but Jacob looked proud of himself as he crossed the room to join the defense side and the Gryffindor, Zachary, he thought his name was, begrudgingly grabbed his wand from the floor and joined the attack side.

The other Hufflepuff girl had a great shot against her opponent, but it was defended just in time. Next, another sixth year Hufflepuff stepped up, looking nervous. His opponent was a short but very outspoken girl from Ravenclaw.

"_Expellm_-_armus_," he said, flourishing his wand as nothing happened. The Ravenclaw across the way looked embarrassed for him.

"Try again!" She called.

Draco stepped up to the boy, "The incantation is pronounced Ex-pell-ee-arm-us," he said quietly, "And you'll want to make your wand motions a little more polished, like this," he did a slow motion example of the wand motion with his own wand and the boy nodded.

"I swear I've done this before, not sure why I'm getting nervous now."

"It happens when we're around our peers," Draco gave him a crooked smile, "If it helps your nerves at all, Professor Granger just bested me in front of the whole class so at least you've just got a few classmates around. Just see the wand motions in your head and maybe picture your opponent as your best friend. Something less intimidating."

The boy laughed, "Alright, thanks professor," he closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before he opened them and pointed his wand across the room again, "_Expelliarmus_!"

A red light shot from the end of his wand and the girl across from him defended it, "Wow, nice shot Harper," she said, clapping him on the back as they passed each other to switch sides.

_Max Harper_, Draco reminded himself after hearing the boy's last name. Now maybe he wouldn't forget it again.

Hermione had been standing close by with a group of fifth years, listening in on Draco's teaching moment. She heard him start walking away from the sixth year group and she refocused on what was going on at her station.

They cleaned up together that night, not talking, but his help was appreciated. Hermione was stacking the last of the cards as Draco finished setting the desks back in order. She glanced over at him as he paused at the door.

"Have a good night, Granger," he said with a crooked smile.

"See you, Malfoy," she replied as he left for the dungeons. As much as she could tell it was still him, slightly arrogant and quick to comment without thinking, this new version of him that was clearly making an effort not to make them both miserable was a breath of fresh air. It made a big part of her want to know more about what was going on behind the scenes.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The next couple of weeks went similarly. Hermione could feel him slowly letting down the walls that seemed built in stone around him as he went from a cordial 'hello' to an almost casual 'how are your classes,' and their conversations during their preparation meetings extended past business talk on occasion, when another subject would arise. The transition happened almost naturally as they spent at least four days a week around each other between Head of House meetings, Dueling Club preparation, Dueling Club meetings and Staff meetings.

She'd shocked him a few times early on with her quick comebacks to his own witty comments and she could tell he was figuring out how to respond to it now; Almost like a challenge of wits. They'd been so engrained to dislike each other their whole lives at Hogwarts that she'd never really considered he may have a personality outside of the mean insults and constant look as though he'd just smelled something unpleasant. They'd seemed to find comfort in this sarcastic humor that fell somewhere between one-upping and outsmarting each other, with a hint of sincere enjoyment of the other as worthy competition. It felt almost normal, like the bickering they'd done since they met, only instead of malicious, it was… friendly fire now.

They were holding their first monthly competition and each of the classes had crowned their champion for the night, the prize being twenty house points and a stash of candy from Honeydukes.

"Professor Granger, are you going to duel Professor Malfoy?" Fiona called as they started to dole out the winnings.

"Oh," Hermione looked over at Draco, who raised his eyebrows and shrugged, "Yes," she said decisively, "Yes, we can do that."

The students whistled and clapped as they took their places in the middle of the room, raising their wands to each other before turning to walk their strides.

"Now, if I know Granger's moves by this point," Draco said to the class, walking away from Hermione with his hands clasped behind his back, "I know she's already got her wand up in defense," he wasn't wrong, she'd paced quickly that night, "And she's thinking perhaps I'll do something sneaky," he looked back over his shoulder, where she stood with a grin on her face, "But she'd be ready for that, so instead," he turned, raising his wand casually as she tilted her head at him, "I'm going to fully prepare myself for a solid attack."

Their wands were pointed at each other and Draco took a deep breath, "_Petrifcus_ _Totalus_!"

"_Protego_!" She yelled, jumping to the side and yelling, "_Stupify_!"

Draco defended her attack, and they began their dance of curses and counter curses as the students around them looked on excitedly. They moved around the room, ducking and dodging each other, calculating and adapting. At one point Draco had to forcibly throw himself on the floor to avoid her shot.

"_Repete Verba_!" Draco shouted again, she'd never heard that one before and it caught her off guard as she paused to think after casting her protection charm. Without giving her time to retaliate from her defense, he yelled again, "_Expelliarmus_!"

It caught her as she rose her hand again and her wand flew backwards over the desk. She looked back at Draco in surprise, her eyes wide, but almost laughing.

"I concede!" She called over the clapping from the students, "You win this round of our monthly professor duels."

Draco grinned at her, "You fought admirably Granger, but I accept your white flag."

They walked up to each other and shook hands, "Hope you're ready to keep score for the year, because this might be the only one you win," she said to him cheekily.

"I do like a challenge," he replied in a low voice, turning back to the students, "Alright, this has been a fun meeting, but it's time for everyone to get back to your dormitories before we've kept you out of bed after hours."

Everyone begrudgingly nodded, still high from the evening's activities, and started on their way back to their common rooms, talking animatedly about the duels they'd witnessed.

"So are you going to tell me you let me win?" Draco drawled.

"No," she said, her head high, "You beat me fair and square. Something I expect you'll say back to me when I beat you next time."

"Keep talking that way, it'll make it better when I beat you again," he glanced over at her as he levitated the pillows into their storage bin.

"You're going to be incorrigible this next month, aren't you?"

"Bragging rights are bragging rights," he shrugged, "But you put up a good fight."

"What was that spell you used? The one that knocked me off my game?"

"I created it," he said proudly, "It makes your opponent repeat your next sentence after you."

"No way!" She laughed, "What were you going to make me say!"

"That'll have to be a surprise for when it lands in the future."

"If it ever does the students will go crazy wanting to learn it," she warned him, "Can you imagine the gossip mill this school would be if you had students hitting other students with a jinx that made them say whatever they wanted!"

"Didn't really think about that," Draco blinked a few times, "That would make teenage life very interesting indeed."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "You're really a lot."

"One thing that's never changed," he flashed her a genuine smile and she felt some weird sense of goosebumps pop up down her arms, which she blatantly ignored.

They cleaned together that evening and Draco waited around for her to leave the classroom.

"Are you joining us for our Hogsmeade outing in a few weeks?" Hermione asked.

"No," he gave a dark laugh, "Haven't gotten the friendliest vibes from many other professors."

"I'm sure if you came out, they'd have a chance to get to know you."

"Thanks for the offer," Draco said with finality, "But I don't mind the weekends to myself," they walked out into the entrance hall and Draco came to a stop at their split.

Hermione stopped with him, feeling an unusual instinct to keep talking. Pushing the feeling to the back of her head, she cleared her throat, "Alright, well have a good night, Malfoy."

He looked like he, too, wanted to say more, but nodded instead, "Night Granger," he said, walking slowly backwards a few steps before he turned and headed towards the stairs to the dungeons as she watched after him for a moment, her curiosity of knowing more about him was growing with every interaction, but she wasn't sure if it would ever be appropriate for her to ask.

Pulling her thoughts back, she turned and headed for Gryffindor Tower, their duel from the evening playing back in her head as she smiled to herself.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	5. The Belated Apology

**Chapter 5**: The Belated Apology

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

As Sunday rolled around, Hermione felt she was watching the clock _waiting_ for it to be eight, as opposed to dreading it. At seven thirty, she threw caution to the wind.

"I'm going to head to my Dueling Club meeting," she said, getting up from the couch, where she'd been sitting and reading.

"Going a bit early," Ron commented.

"I have some things I wanted to edit in my own lesson plans before Malfoy gets there," she said nonchalantly, grabbing her bag from the table, "See you later."

Ron watched as she walked out the door before he turned back to his magazine with a shrug. She did love to work.

As Hermione walked towards the DADA classroom, she thought about how she wanted to try and have a real conversation with Draco tonight about some of the things she'd been wondering. If the opportunity presented itself. He'd been friendly with her for a few weeks now so maybe he would be more open to it. She pushed the door open, surprised to see Draco was already there, setting his bag on one of the desks.

His head turned towards her at the sound of the door, "Evening, Granger."

"Evening, Malfoy," she said, wandering in to take a seat near him, "You're early."

"_You're_ early," he said with a wry smile back.

She ignored his reply, starting to unpack her quills and parchment, "How was your weekend?"

"It was fine. Met Blaise in Hogsmeade for a drink last night."

"That sounds nice. Blaise Zabini? I remember him, but not well."

Draco nodded, "He's one of the few I'm still close to. Him and Pansy."

"Ah," Hermione couldn't think of anything nicer to say to that, she'd certainly never liked Pansy Parkinson. For some reason she was glad he hadn't mentioned she'd been out with them as well.

"How was your weekend, Granger?"

"Good, spent most of it with Ginny down by the lake yesterday. Other than that, it was just a lot of grading and reading."

"Not spending your weekends wedding planning?" He asked coolly. He'd been looking for a reason to bring it up after surveying the ring on her finger in conjunction with her lackluster interactions with Weasley during the first month of term.

"No," she said a bit quickly, "No, we haven't really started yet." She made a mental note to make time for it this weekend. They really should get started if it was ever going to happen.

"Seems like a thing two people in love would want to do," he said, the implication clear.

"We've just been busy," she said defensively, changing the subject to Dueling Club matters to avoid discussing her relationship with Malfoy. That was _not_ the conversation she'd been hoping for.

They made their flashcards for the evening, discussing which students seemed to be standouts, and which might need a little extra help. At the end of the evening they felt prepared for their meeting on Tuesday.

"Malfoy," Hermione said hesitantly as they packed up their things, "I've been wanting to ask you about the comment you made about not being here to make friends."

He looked over at her warily, "It's not something that needs to be delved into."

"I just think sometimes friendships happen even when you're not looking for them," she said, "And I think you should be open to finding more here than just teaching."

"I like teaching. Everything else is complicated. Why do you care anyway?" He said with a cocky tilt of the head, "Looking to call me your friend?"

She felt an uncharacteristic blush creep up her neck, "I was just saying you shouldn't be so negative about your life here. It'll be what you make it."

"That mindset is something you Gryffindors are privy to and some of us others are not," he said casually, although it was clear he meant what he said.

"Was your mother the one who wanted you to come back?" She couldn't help herself from asking the questions that had been burning in her.

He considered her, "Yes," he nodded slowly, "She wanted me to put my name in for it. She wanted to see me trying to move forward."

"From the war?"

"From the war," his tone had a slight bite to it, but she understood why.

"I hope you can," she said a bit quieter, "You deserve a chance to move forward like the rest of us."

"This isn't something I can talk about with you, Granger," he said with a heavy sigh, "I appreciate the sentiment, but you'll never understand," he threw his bag on his shoulder and walked to the door, "Have a good night."

She crossed her arms over her chest as he left, it had been something, but it had also created a whole new set of questions, rather than just answering the ones she'd already had.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Draco felt himself trying to keep his frustrations in check as he left that evening, more hastily than normal. It wasn't her fault that she was curious and he was sure she meant what she said. He'd come to learn that she was quite genuine. And he wasn't at all surprised that she thought he could just 'move forward' because it was an easy thing to say. But she hadn't seen what he had. She hadn't _done_ what he had and she'd never feel the lasting effects of reconciling those things with who he was trying to be now. He _was_ trying to move forward. He didn't want to be the "ex-Death Eater" but he couldn't very well just pretend it had never happened. He wasn't a hero and he didn't deserve the ease of just moving on from everything when all of them… Granger and her friends and their families… when they still dealt with the aftermath of it all. Who was he to just _move forward_ with his life. He knew he just needed to be alone in his room tonight with his thoughts and he'd go back to his new, "normal" self tomorrow so that nothing would seem amiss.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hermione was running a few minutes late for the first Dueling Club of October, caught up in reading through one of her student's essays. She pushed the door open and paused for a moment, looking around the room. There must have been almost double the amount of students than their usual meetings and they were currently all looking back at her. Her eyes moved to the front of the classroom where Draco was standing, ankles crossed as he leaned on the table with his hands in his pockets.

"Evening Granger, glad you were able to make it tonight," he said smoothly as the students laughed and she gave him a look.

"Lost track of the time! Looks like we've got a few new students," she said as she closed the door behind her and walked up to join him in the front.

"Yes, we were just going through an introduction of the club for our new members, I was reminding them of the last meeting, you know, where I beat you in a duel."

She turned and eyed the new members, "Don't let his ego fool you, he's only bringing it up because he's still shocked he was _able_ to beat me," there was another rumble of laughter and she leaned on the table next to him, "Alright, get on with it," she told him smartly.

He turned back to the class, "So Professor Granger and I will start this lesson by showing you the Bombarda curse."

Hermione whipped her head over towards him again, "I thought we weren't going to do that one so we weren't, how did you put it, 'blowing stuff up' in the DADA classroom."

He shrugged, "You said you could put some charms around our target and it wouldn't be a big deal."

She sighed and pushed herself off the desk, the students seemed very excited to blow stuff up so she couldn't let them down now. She flicked her wand and summoned a pillow to her, setting it on the ground and placing charms from floor to ceiling around three sides of it, "All yours, Professor Malfoy. If you destroy anything, it's on you."

Draco positioned himself about ten feet from the pillow, "Alright, here we go," he said as he straightened his robes, pointing his wand at his target, "_Bombarda_!"

They pillow exploded in front of them all, feathers flying in every direction, but being caught against the invisible wall Hermione had set up. There was a roar of applause from the students and Hermione couldn't help but laugh as feathers fell slowly to the floor in front of Draco.

"I'm not sure we've got enough pillows for this," Hermione said as the students started talking amongst themselves excitedly.

"Whatever, I'll buy more for the next meeting," he said with a grin, "Worth it for their reaction."

Hermione gave him a halfhearted eye roll.

"I made a new set of flashcards," Draco said, handing her the stack from the desk.

"You did these all yourself?" She asked, brows furrowed.

"I didn't sleep much Sunday night. It's not a big deal. We'll use the ones we made together for another lesson."

She looked up at him with an understanding crooked smile, "Alright, I'll distribute them as I get things set up." She turned from him and walked off to set up the seven stations with invisible walls and an arsenal of pillows.

The evening was a loud one as pillows exploded every couple of minutes and whoops of enjoyment and encouragement filled the room.

"I'd like to remind you that Bombarda was still my idea," Hermione said to him as they stood at the front of the class, watching the chaos.

"You're just taking credit for it because everyone's having fun."

"You only did it so they'd all think you're the cool professor."

"But I am the cool professor," his eyes met hers and she was almost transfixed by how light they looked. The color was an icy blue, almost silver, maybe. She'd never noticed before, she'd always thought of them as cold and grey, but they were warm now.

As she looked at him, he looked back at her the same way. He didn't think they'd ever really caught each other's eye like this before, or at least not this close up. She was searching him, he didn't love that feeling but found it hard to pull his eyes away for the second they locked. It was an odd sensation.

"Professor Granger?" Hermione tore her eyes back to the room of students, blinking a few times.

"Yes, Fiona?" She asked, walking over to her. Her heart felt like it was beating a little faster than it should be. Like she'd just been caught in a private moment. But she hadn't. They'd just been joking around and their gaze met for a brief moment, it was no big deal. Certainly nothing private.

"I think I accidentally broke through your invisible wall," Fiona pointed at the feathers flying beyond their territory.

"It seems you have!" Hermione agreed, "Must have been a powerful spell you sent at it."

Draco watched after her as she reset the wall around the sixth year space. He felt something magnetic coming from her in that moment. Like there had been a spark between them as their eyes had met and it hadn't totally dissolved even as she stood across the room from him with her back turned. He tilted his head a bit, thinking. He didn't dislike the feeling. On the contrary, it was a very enticing feeling he wanted to explore. He finally moved his gaze from her, scanning the room and wandering to check in on the first years as he let his mind do some wandering of its own.

As the evening ended and the students, riled up and recounting their stories, headed for their dormitories, Hermione and Draco looked around at the mess of feathers.

"Regretting your decision yet?" she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Not in the slightest," he said as he waved his wand at a pile of feathers, vanishing them before he moved to the next pile.

"I like that girl Fiona, in Slytherin," Hermione said, "I can tell she's going to be a powerful witch."

"Yes, she's great at potions too," Draco nodded, "It's been interesting getting to know some of the students and trying to remember what I was like back in their shoes."

"You were a prat," she said, "I remember quite well, actually."

He knew she meant it to be a joke, but it was blindingly true and he paused in his cleaning, turning towards her as she vanished another pile of feathers, "I'm sorry for all that," he said with an unexpected intensity as she looked over her shoulder, doing a double take at his serious tone, "For everything I said to you back in school. For the names I called you. None of it was okay."

"It's in the past," she said in a softer voice, leaning against one of the desks near her to look at him for this conversation, "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know you didn't," his lip curled up, "But it's something I should apologize for. I was cruel to you and there's no excuse for that. I was just a very skewed child and I hadn't seen my world for what it was yet."

"I appreciate your apology. We both know some of the things you said and did then weren't alright, but it's clear to see you've taken responsibility and you've changed on your own volition. We've all grown up from Hogwarts."

He nodded, trying to think of anything else he had to say, "And I'm sorry for my Aunt."

"Don't," she shook her head, and he could tell he'd struck a nerve, "You don't have to apologize for things you had no control over. I would never want you to take that on yourself. I accept your apology for being a prat at Hogwarts. Let's just let that be that." She'd tried so hard to put that night in Malfoy Manor behind her. She still had nightmares about it sometimes. She still woke up grasping her forearm short of breath. She didn't want to think about it.

Draco turned from her, not wanting her to see the guilt that was written all over his face. He blamed himself for it all the time. He had stood there watching and done nothing while his aunt tortured her; while she carved words into her skin. But it was clear this wasn't the time to talk about it. She'd accepted his apology and maybe with time that would lighten some portion of the immense weight he felt in his chest when he thought about his past, "Thought maybe you'd apologize for punching me in the face third year, while we're having this little heart to heart," he said, the sarcasm evident in his tone.

"Oh no," her tone matched his, "That memory will live on as one of my brightest moments. I don't regret it for a second."

He glanced over at her with a grin that she returned before they both returned to vanishing feathers and discussing the students. When they finished that evening, they walked together to the entrance hall again where they parted ways.

Hermione didn't sleep much that night at all as she thought about a few different things. The first was his apology and what it must have meant to him to say those words to her and take responsibility for who he used to be. The second was that night at Malfoy Manor and all of the painful, horrible thoughts that came along with the memories. And the third was the moment early on in the club meeting when their eyes locked. It was the last thing she thought about as she finally fell into a restless sleep for a few hours that night and the thoughts it put in her head were none she'd ever have expected she'd think in her life. There had been something between them in that moment and the memory of it made her heart beat faster subconsciously.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	6. Philosophy

**Chapter 6**: Philosophy

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

It was the first weekend of October and Hermione and Ron had made a plan to sit down after lunch on Saturday and talk about wedding plans. They'd both sighed when they finished lunch and returned to their room, sitting down at the table as Hermione pulled out a piece of parchment.

"Alright," Hermione looked over at Ron, who looked bored already, "So obviously we should start with deciding on a date."

Ron nodded, "Alright, how about spring?"

Hermione's eyes widened, spring was only six months away, "No, much too soon. You know, for planning purposes. Maybe next winter?"

"That's really far away," Ron said with a small laugh, "End of summer?"

"I - yeah, yes, I guess the end of summer makes sense."

"Great, end of summer then."

"What do you think about location?" She asked, jotting down notes on the parchment.

"The Burrow, of course," Ron said incredulously.

"Why is that obvious?" She looked up at him, "It's not that I don't love the Burrow, but why wouldn't we consider something closer to my parents? Or somewhere in between? Or somewhere important to both of us?"

"Bloody hell, I just assumed the Burrow was the easiest choice. You want to get married at Hogwarts or something? In the library?" Ron was rolling his eyes and she pursed her lips.

"I was just saying it wouldn't hurt to consider options."

"And it would save time to just decide on the Burrow and move on."

"I knew you were going to be stubborn about planning this," Hermione said heavily, "This is why I kept putting this off."

"And I knew you were going to take over planning everything even if we tried to sit down and figure it out together, which is why _I_ kept putting it off," Ron bit back at her.

"I'm not taking over planning, I'm trying to discuss options and you're acting like your suggestions are the only ones that matter. I think it's a bit selfish."

"It's just a stupid event for everyone else. We've been together for five years already, we're clearly already together. So what's it matter if we just put on the stupid event at the Burrow."

"A wedding is not a stupid event, Ronald. It's a declaration of love."

He snorted, "Alright, Hermione."

"If you think it's a stupid event why did you even propose?"

"Because it just makes sense," he threw his arms up, "We've been together long enough so it's time to get married and start on our future, right? Build our life together."

"Sounds like something your mother told you."

"Who cares if it is," he shook his head, "This is a ridiculous thing to fight about. You're so over the top sometimes and this just isn't a big deal."

"It's clear we're not going to get far today," she stood up, his lack of passion of the '_best day of their lives_' was infuriating, "Let's just take an afternoon apart to calm down and we can try again another day."

"Fine with me," Ron said, standing up and walking into the bedroom, closing the door hard behind him.

Hermione looked at it in frustration before leaving the room and letting her legs take her where they wanted to go. Far away from here. She eventually ended up down by the lake, dropping down onto the soft ground, the grass crisp underneath her in the fall air. She put her head in her hands, letting out the groan she'd been holding in. She took a few deep breaths, gradually slowing her heart rate, before she finally lifted her head, wrapping her arms around her knees and staring off into the lake.

She didn't know how her and Ron would ever get past these stupid fights. They couldn't make a single decision together without getting annoyed with each other. She looked down into her lap. She knew to some extent it was her fault. And she also knew to some extent it was his. They were both stubborn and they were both so used to the other contradicting them. Even if they agreed on something they'd find a way to fight about it and it was exhausting.

"Granger?"

Hermione's head whipped around behind her and her hair flew across her face, "Malfoy, what are you doing out here?" She pushed it back behind her ear.

"Fancied a walk outside and saw your bushy hair from the top of the hill," he gave her a halfhearted grin, noticing her down mood immediately, "Mind if I sit?"

"Of course not," she said quickly, clearing her throat a little, "I was just getting out of the castle for a bit. You know, enjoying the grounds before they're covered in snow in a few weeks."

He nodded as he sat down next to her, "Everything alright?"

She turned her head towards him, her partial smile not at all meeting her eyes, "It'll be fine."

"Weasley?" He asked, sitting back on his hands.

She was quiet for a moment, "We've just got some things to work through."

"Thought it would be all rainbows and unicorns with you two," he looked out across the lake, glad to have something to distract him from where his thoughts had been before he'd run into her. It had been a dark morning of thinking about his past, alone in his room in the dungeons. The only reason he'd left the castle was to clear his head.

Hermione fiddled with the ring on her finger. She didn't want to talk badly on Ron, especially not to Draco Malfoy. But at the same time, Draco Malfoy was starting to become her friend. And maybe it would help to talk about it with someone that wasn't Harry, "It hasn't been rainbows and unicorns in a long time."

"Then why are you together?"

It seemed like such a simple question, but the answer was nowhere near simple, "We love each other," she said matter-of-factly, "He was there for me and I was there for him during pivotal moments after the war. This was just... it was always the plan."

"Then what's the issue?"

She paused, it was so hard to say these things out loud, "It doesn't feel like it did then. In the beginning. We stopped making the effort to make each other happy. We just fight all the time now."

"Look, Granger, I know my opinion isn't a rock solid source and I get that the war affected us all differently, but you don't have to stay in something that doesn't make you happy."

She sighed, "It's hard to explain. I have to be there for him. And a part of me needs him there for me. We've always had each other."

"What did you fight about today?"

"Wedding plans," she said dryly.

He gave a humorless laugh, "Not to sound judgmental, but that seems like a subject you should be excited about."

"I know," she said quietly and he took a deep breath, realizing it might not be his place to push it. She clearly had her hesitations.

"Well, you obviously walked away from that conversation, so how about I distract you with another one," he nudged her arm with his and she gave him an appreciative smile, "I saw the Artimus Bancroft book in your bag the other night. I read it over the summer. What are your thoughts so far?"

She looked incredulously at him, "You read Bancroft?"

"Don't sound so shocked. You're not the only one who _reads_."

"Yes, but he's like... a philosopher who writes about feelings and life and the inner workings of how the brain functions with different interactions and stimulants."

"I'm not sure if I should be offended by your shock or not."

"Sorry, I just figured you'd read about... I don't know, Slytherin stuff."

"Well I usually only read books about taking over the world and seeking power and vengeance, but every once in a while I branch out," the look in his eyes was light and she gave a small laugh.

"Sorry, I've been trying to work on being more aware of my biases."

"I as well," he looked back out at the water and nodded. The additional meaning behind his response was clear.

She looked at him another second with a smile before she shook her head, "So Bancroft. I think his theories on brain wave pattern changes resulting from your surrounding environment are spot on. Something that happens subconsciously when you're not paying attention. I like reading his books because he makes you internalize a lot of things that happen on a normal basis around you that are inherent to overlook."

"I agree, but I also think that theory almost creates a scapegoat. Like he's spreading these theories for people who need something to blame or something to point to when they don't want to see what's in front of them. I think anyone can read it and think they're just a product of their environment and I think it takes away a lot of personal accountability."

"Yes I guess I didn't consider it from that angle yet," she finally unwrapped her arms from her knees, stretching her legs out in front of her as she felt her body start to release the tension from her fight with Ron, "I think personally I related it to the changes I've seen in myself since the war. I think I tried to pretend the things that happened around me and the changes in the attitudes of the people around me in the aftermath of the war, didn't impact who I am or what I think about, but reading this helped me to look at it like an outsider and think about how all of those things in my direct environment do play a part in how I think and react now. I think being more aware of it helps to make sense of it."

"So maybe if you think about it that way, try from the opposite perspective," Draco pulled his knee up and rested an elbow on it, his other hand on the ground, body turned towards her, as he prepared himself for doing the one thing he always found the most difficult, talking about the war, "I told myself I had ended up where I was, in the Death Eaters, because of my father; because of my environment. But at the end of the day, that was just an excuse. It was my own choices that put me there, whether I want to acknowledge it or not. Text that tells you your environment changes your brain waves… it makes you feel like maybe it's not your fault that you feel how you do or that you do what you do. But in a world of free will, you may learn from your environment and it may influence you, but I think it's dangerous to tell yourself that we're just a product of our environment, because we don't have to be."

"No, we certainly don't have to be," she agreed softly. It made her stomach turn to consider where this was coming from. It was clear the regret was a part of him now and that he'd done a lot of thinking and research on what lead him to where he ended up and how he could cope with those decisions. He wanted to take the blame on himself because it was his coping mechanism to the part he'd played in it. It humanized him to Hermione more than he probably knew, "Do you mind if I ask you something personal, Malfoy?"

He let a long breath out of his nose as he considered her. He should have known she'd follow up on it, but maybe he needed to talk about it out loud today. It'd been on his mind all morning, "Alright."

"What was it like, being on the other side?"

He couldn't look her in the eye for this one. He turned back to the lake and tried to drain his voice of emotion, "Awful," he knew he'd have to explain but finding the words was always impossible.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't necessary for me to bring up," his change in demeanor made her immediately regret asking. It helped her to talk about things sometimes and she'd thought maybe it would help him.

"It's okay," he said slowly, "I'm just trying to figure out how to put it."

She sat quietly, not pushing him, letting him take his time.

"I saw a lot of things I wish I'd never seen," he said, "Professor Burbage... I was there when he killed her. I was sitting in the room."

Hermione's heart felt like it stopped. She'd never considered...

"He made me..." he swallowed hard, "Torture Ollivander when they brought him in. Just to prove I could do it," he glanced at her, the look of horror on her face ripped him apart inside, "He told me if I couldn't even torture someone then I could never do what was expected of me. And if I couldn't show my potential... he told me he'd kill my mother."

Hermione felt her eyes welling with tears that she blinked back. It wasn't fair of her to cry. It wasn't her story nor her pain, it was his.

"I never killed anyone," he said pointedly, "But I've used both of the other Unforgivables," his voice got lower, "I should have gone to Azkaban. I would have if it hadn't been for Potter."

Hermione reached out for his hand, squeezing it in hers. He looked down at it, but still couldn't meet her gaze. A big part of him hoped she wouldn't pull her hand back, and she didn't.

"So you see, it's hard for me to accept that I could just pawn off my choices as being a product of my environment because they were unforgivable. And as such, inexcusable. I never should have gotten involved. I should have asked my parents to go to Dumbledore for protection before it ever got to that point. Before he ever assigned me that task before sixth year."

"You were sixteen, Malfoy," Hermione whispered, her voice pleading, "You did what you thought you had to for your family."

He shook his head with a dark laugh, "It's worse than that, Granger. I wanted to be a part of it then, when I was sixteen. I didn't get what it meant, what it _took_ to be one of them. I just thought they were powerful, and I thought the dark arts were fascinating; That only skilled wizards could really see the beauty in them. I wanted to be powerful. I didn't realize what it would feel like to look at another person and do harm to them. Or to look someone in the eye before their last breath. The second I understood, it was too late. I'd already made my choice. And it was at _that_ point that I didn't feel that I could turn back in fear for my family's safety"

"Malfoy, I know I'll never truly understand," she tried to catch his eye, but he wouldn't look up, "But I hope you know that all you can do is try to better yourself and the world we live in. You're here now, teaching a new generation of witches and wizards about magic. You walked away at the end of the war. You and your mother both, separately, covered for us, whatever the motive, and it gave us the time we needed to figure out how to get away; how to beat him. You sat in front of the Wizengamot and answered to the wizarding world for your part in it. It's over. You can focus on doing good now and move forward that way. Look at it as motivation for doing something positive from here on out."

He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the emotion pushing past his wall and willing it to stay where it was, before he opened them again to stare over the water, "I'm doing my best to do just that," he said, moving his hand ever so slightly to squeeze hers back. Something about her positive outlook hit him in a way that he hadn't experienced before. He'd talked with his friends and his mother about his experience and how he felt about it and they'd commiserated, understood even. But he'd never felt the _want_ to really be that better person until now. He'd wanted to not be a terrible person, of course, but the idea of being something positive in the world had never seemed... feasible. Even nabbing the teaching position had felt almost ironic: Draco Malfoy, Death Eater turned Molder-of-Young-Minds. He was just here to make his mother happy. But now, he could almost see it as what she had said, it was a way for him to make a positive impact in a world he'd negatively affected. It would never cancel out what he'd done, but maybe that was a way forward, "Why do you want to believe in me?" He looked back over at her, genuinely needing to know.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I just do. You just seem like you deserve another chance, below your hard exterior I think there's a lot of good, and I think you've been through a lot in your life, that, whether you want to accept it or not, didn't give you a lot of good choices. But you have all the power to make your choices now and you're here and you're trying. So I want to believe in you."

His lip curled into a crooked smile and he nodded, without much else to say, "Thank you, for that."

She finally pulled her hand back from his, laying back on her elbow, "So what did you think of Bancroft's theory on water and air energy charms to combat the negative brain wave changes?"

Draco scoffed, "Hippie talk," and Hermione laughed.

"I thought it was a bit outlandish as well," she gave him a reassuring smile that they were moving on from the conversation, "It's such a temporary fix. Positive energy from water and air dissipate almost as soon as the elements you're using to pull from are depleted."

"It's just a placebo effect for people who want to pretend everything is well and good. My mother went through a phase of using them when company would come over. But whatever works for the time being, I guess."

They sat there for a while discussing the different theories in the book as the tone lightened. There was something comfortable in talking to each other; a sense of non-judgmental open forum, on both sides. Draco felt he could say things to her that he felt uncomfortable saying to himself because she wasn't there to narrow her eyes and give him looks of disgust. She just wanted to listen and understand.

Hermione was, admittedly, in awe of how raw and unedited he was with her. She knew how hard it was to talk about her experiences in the war, and couldn't imagine what it must be like with the regret he held; the things he'd been a part of, but he was putting it all out there with her... like he trusted her. Or maybe like he just needed someone to see him for who he was, flaws and all, and accept him. She knew who he had been wasn't a good person, but the person sitting next to her right now... well, it was just someone else entirely. Someone wonderful and captivating who just needed someone in his corner believing in him.

Their conversation veered from philosophy theories to coursebooks and classes and eventually to the Dueling Club.

"So what are you going to show them next, how to set things on fire?" Hermione joked, "How do you top blowing up pillows."

"Oh yes, I think that would be very fun," he said with a gleam in his eyes as she rolled her own and sat herself up, "Oh come on, loosen up, I'm joking." He threw and arm over her shoulder casually, shaking her gently. He didn't know why he did it, it just happened naturally and then, to his surprise, she leaned her head on his shoulder with an exasperated sigh.

"You're going to be the death of me, aren't you, Malfoy."

"I'm certainly going to keep you on your toes," he said smugly and she laughed, pulling her head back up to meet his eye as he pulled his arm back, trying hard to make it look like his heart rate wasn't speeding up from the feeling of her body against his. It was innocent. _Completely_ innocent.

His eyes were doing that thing again. The same thing they'd done last time where they pulled her in and cleared everything from her mind. Her laugh faded into a soft smile as he grinned back at her. This was probably where she was supposed to say something witty, but she couldn't think of a single word to form a sentence.

"Hermione?"

They were both jolted from the moment again as they looked back to see Harry walking towards them.

"Harry, hi," she said, "What brings you down to the lake?"

"I was headed for the Quidditch pitch, but I thought I saw you down here," he said, "How's it going, Malfoy?"

"Good, Potter, how are you?" He was glad to have a distraction. Not because he didn't want more time to let the moment play out, but because he had a feeling if he did, it was headed towards dangerous territory. And it had already been a rollercoaster of a day.

"Doing well," he nodded, "Care to join for some flying? I was just going to go fly around on my own for a bit but I wouldn't mind some company."

Draco considered him for a second, "You know what, I think I will," he said, looking over at Hermione, "If you're heading in, that is."

"I should, yes," she said, realizing by the low position of the sun in the sky that it must be early evening by now.

Draco stood, holding out his hand to help her up. She hesitated briefly, but took it and stood, pulling her hand back quickly. The feeling of his skin on hers did something inexplicable to her breathing and she didn't want anything to seem amiss.

She brushed off her pants and looked back over at Harry, who was looking between the two curiously.

"You doing alright, Hermione?" Harry asked, "I stopped by to see Ron earlier."

"Yes, I'm alright," Hermione smiled at him, "I'm going to head back up to the castle. Both of you have fun."

"See you Hermione."

"See you Granger."

She waved at them both as she turned and walked slowly back up to the castle, knowing once she returned that she'd have to face Ron. She pushed that from her mind for a few more minutes and let her thoughts wander back to her afternoon talking about philosophy, about real, _raw_, life, and joking around with Malfoy in the grass by the lake. They weren't thoughts she should be allowing, but they were impossible to ignore. She'd felt a closeness in their conversation, an openness she hadn't felt before. She'd liked the feeling of his arm around her. She'd liked the feeling of his hand holding hers. Draco Malfoy was doing something to her that she didn't understand, something that probably was not good for her sanity.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	7. Bleeding Ink

**Chapter 7:** Bleeding Ink

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

She pushed the door to her room open, Ron was sitting on the couch reading through the Quidditch rule book, presumably for the first match of the year in the coming week.

He looked up, "Hey Hermione."

"Hey," she said tentatively, shutting the door behind her.

"Where did you get off to today?" His voice was casual.

"I went down to the lake, did some thinking on a book I've been reading," it wasn't totally untrue.

"Would you like to go grab dinner soon?"

She realized he was just going to pretend their fight never happened and was more relieved than anything else, "Sure. I'll grab my bag. I'm going to head to the library afterwards for some lesson planning."

Ron shut his book and placed it on the coffee table, "Alright, I'm ready when you are."

She grabbed her bag and met him back by the door where he was waiting with a sheepish smile on his face. It was something he did when he avoided confronting issues. His way of apologizing without having to say it. She returned the look, an acknowledgment that it was in the past, and they left the room for the Great Hall where an awkwardly forced polite conversation followed.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Evening, Granger," Draco greeted her as she arrived for their Dueling Club preparation meeting the following night.

"Hey," she smiled, feeling the tension leave her again as she closed the door behind her, "How was your flying outing?"

"Welcomed," he said honestly, "Felt nice to go do something mindless for a bit actually. Quite glad I left the castle yesterday. Got to have a nice afternoon conversation and an evening fly."

"I'm glad you did too," she said, avoiding his eye as she set her bag down to unpack.

"How was the rest of your evening?"

"It was fine," she said, "We just pretend things don't happen."

"Very healthy," he said sarcastically.

She gave him a weary look before continuing, "Spent most of my evening in the library doing some research for my next Transfiguration lesson."

"You didn't spend it having makeup sex in your room?" He said incredulously.

"_What_?!" Her head whipped up, eyes wide.

"Sorry, are we not there yet with this friendship?" His eyes were laughing at her, excited to have caught her off guard and realizing he might enjoy making her uncomfortable as much as he enjoyed it when she challenged him.

"I — no, we didn't," she liked that he'd called it a friendship, or else she never would have given his question the time of day.

"That's the only good reason to fight though, isn't it?" He raised an eyebrow at her, "For making up later."

"Well it's certainly not how we fight."

"Save it for the happy evenings, then?"

"More like seldom special occasions," she said under her breath. She shouldn't be telling him these things.

"Sounds romantic," he was loving this; it was way more interesting than he'd anticipated. And really the best answers he could have hoped for. He'd be lying if he said a part of him wasn't curious if that part of their relationship satisfied her at least. Because he knew damn sure that he could.

"This is very weird to talk about with you," she said, sitting down at her desk.

"We're adults," he shrugged, the twinkle still prominently shining in his eyes, "So if it's seldom, don't you miss it? The excitement of it? The passion of it?"

"This conversation is over," she pulled out a piece of parchment and quill and wrote 'Dueling Club, October, Week 2' at the top.

Draco sighed, turning a chair around to sit on the other side of her desk; Closer than he usually sat, "Fine. I'll try that conversation again another time."

"So I'll be leading the next meeting," Hermione ignored him, "We've got Levicorpus on the list for this week."

Draco's grin deepened with the blush on her cheeks but he let her change the subject, "So we can start with me lifting you up."

"_What_?!" She craned her neck around to face him again, his comment for some reason making her think he meant picking her up. Her head immediately going to the conversation about sex they'd just been having.

"With the curse," he tilted his head at her, "You know, levicorpus. Lifting your body in the air."

"Right, of course," her skin was burning. Of course he meant the curse. Why would he mean picking her up, "Sorry."

"What did you think I meant," he asked slyly.

"Nothing, I just, I heard you wrong," she cleared her throat, "Okay so you can attack me and maybe I'll defend it or maybe I'll let you hit me."

He was still grinning at her, "You're cute when you're embarrassed, you know."

"I'm not embarrassed and you're not as funny as you think you are," she still couldn't meet his eye, "Let's get back to lesson planning." Did he think she was cute? Did he mean that in a 'friend' way? Is that something friends said to each other?

"Alright, so either you'll defend it, or you'll pretend you let me hit you."

She flicked her eyes up at him, trying to regain her composure, "If that's what you'd like to tell yourself."

"I started on the flashcards this morning," he said, reaching into his bag and grabbing a stack, "It's probably only a quarter of what we'll need, given the new members, but I had some free time."

"Oh, that was really helpful. Thanks for doing that," Hermione grabbed the cards from him and started a stack on the desk next to them, "I've noticed Gabriel, one of the sixth year Gryffindors, isn't the best with new spells," she said, "But he's part of that pack of boys and he seems a bit too proud to ask for help, maybe pop over to their group before he's up and give a quick recap to _all_ of them so he can get the extra help without asking."

"He's got the curly brown hair? Very tan?"

"That's the one," she said with a smile, "Learning all the names has been the hardest part, really."

"And having to spend your time with me, I'm sure," he was fishing, but who cares.

"I don't mind that part at all," she said, finally lifting her eyes to him again. She felt something weird in her stomach. It was like a mixture of butterflies and guilt, rolled in together. Like it knew she was saying something she shouldn't be, but also held the nervousness and curiosity of waiting for his response.

"I haven't minded that part either, Granger."

Her quill had paused on the parchment as their eyes locked and Draco glanced down, "Your ink is bleeding through," he said in a low voice that made goosebumps pop up her arm. Her brain was working to register what he was saying as she noticed again how close they were to each other and she couldn't help her gaze from falling ever so slightly from his eyes to his lips and back; so quickly she didn't even remember she'd done it. But he'd noticed.

"Granger?"

"Mm?" It was all she could give as a response. Her mouth felt dry.

"Your ink," he said again, his lip curling up.

She blinked a few times, looking down at her parchment and lifting the quill as quickly as she could, "Oh bullocks!"

"Distracted by something?"

"Just lost my train of thought," _what was wrong with her_, "I'll have to copy this over to a new sheet."

There was ink smearing across the page now as it spread through the parchment.

"Maybe I'll take notes next time," he said, leaning back, looking very proud of himself as he eyed her with interest. This spark between them was invigorating, begging to be explored.

"I'm quite capable," she said, "That was just silly of me. Okay, where were we? Students. Yes. I'm going to spend some extra time with the first years," she got her head back in the game and wiped the ink off the desk before she laid a fresh piece of parchment down, "Is there anything we should highlight about the spell?"

They talked business and made flashcards for another hour before stowing their notes away for the evening.

"So you're bringing the list of pre-approved house unity activities from McGonagall to the Head of House meeting tomorrow?" Hermione asked as she threw her bag over her shoulder.

"Yes, she's supposed to have it to me by tomorrow morning," he nodded, "Hopefully we can decide on that and start getting the word out."

"Approvals were the last step so we'll take a vote on the final options in the group and then send a notice around Tuesday morning."

"Efficient as always," he said, "Shall we?"

They left the classroom together, Draco holding the door for her and following her out. As they got to their split he looked over at her with a grin and nudged her elbow with his, "See you tomorrow, Granger," before he walked off towards the stairs to the dungeons.

"Night, Malfoy," she turned towards Gryffindor tower. As she wandered, she asked herself the question she'd kept ignoring in her own mind: was she interested in Malfoy? Or did she just enjoy this new found friendship they'd developed? Her and Harry had never had a flirty friendship, and honestly neither had she and Ron. They just fought a lot back then, too. Malfoy seemed to be flirting with her, but also had been there to talk about Ron. Maybe it was just the kind of friend he was. The touchy-feely type who liked to get under your skin and joke around. Maybe? But she couldn't keep ignoring the things she felt deep down when he was close or when their eyes met. Maybe she just liked the attention? That didn't seem out of place when she'd been in a long term relationship. It's not like Malfoy had feelings for her or something. That would be ridiculous. They just had some kind of comfortable friendship blossoming.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Draco sighed as he walked back towards the dungeons. He could feel himself starting to enjoy Granger's company a little too much. She was easy to talk to, she was smart, she was quick, she was a damn good teacher, and she was so open to him. She didn't write him off because of who he used to be. On the contrary it seemed like because of his past she wanted even more to know who he really was and what he had to say.

He'd seen her get lost in his gaze just as he had in hers. It was the kind of gaze that made it hard to stay in tune with reality, although he'd played it off much better than she had. He'd seen her glance down at his lips and it had taken everything in him not to jump across the desk and capture her own. But he couldn't, she was going to marry Weasley; For some unimaginable reason. He knew he should keep himself in check and keep his distance but he couldn't ignore the facts, he was starting to develop feelings for Granger and he didn't want to keep his distance. He wanted to let it play out. It's not like she was happy anyway. Maybe he was what she really needed, if nothing else, to get her out of an unhappy relationship.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Got the approvals," Draco said smoothly as he walked into the Head of House meeting Monday night.

Hermione was the only one there so far and her face lit up, "Wonderful! Budgets and all?"

"Yes, all the fun stuff," he handed her the paper and she opened it to read through the options on the approval list, leaning against a desk that Draco hopped up on to read over her shoulder.

"I know which one I'm voting for," he said, his voice sounding close to her ear, but she didn't dare turn to face him, she'd already re-read the same line three times now trying to level her heart rate.

"Which one?" she asked, "I know which one I'm voting for as well."

"Wouldn't be anonymous or unbiased if we discussed before the votes, now would it," he chided her and she sighed.

"Fine. Surprise me then."

She flipped the page as they both continued to scan the list before the door pushed open and Luna walked in.

"Hello Draco, hello Hermione," she said airily, walking to the other side of Hermione to read over her shoulder, "What have we got?"

Hermione did her best not to laugh. They were both very close to her now in a way that would certainly look odd to anyone else walking in, "The approvals for our house unity event," she said, pushing herself away from the desk to grab something from her bag. Really just as an excuse to put some space between the three of them.

"Wonderful, I know what I'll be voting for if it got approved."

Ernie wanded in another minute later and they moved the desks in a little circle to discuss the approvals.

"So it looks like McGonagall approved three of our top options and budgets so we'll put those three options to a vote," she told the group, handing out squares of paper to each of them, "Option one is the Halloween Scavenger Hunt around the castle grounds with prizes and a picnic, option two is the Trick-or-Treating in Hogsmeade, and option three is the Halloween Masquerade Ball. Write down which one is your pick on your piece of paper and I'll shuffle them up to see which one gets the most votes."

They each scribbled an answer down and Hermione collected the responses, mixing them up in her hand before she flipped them over, "A unanimous vote for the Masquerade Ball," she smiled, "Great. Let's make some flyers tonight to hang up around the common rooms and I'll let McGonagall know in the morning what we're going with. We'll have to put together a list of supplies we'll need and I can make a trip into town."

"I'll join you," Draco said, "Easier to accomplish with an extra set of hands."

"Of course, makes sense," she said, trying to play it cool, "And Luna and Ernie, maybe you can coordinate with the kitchens for food and drinks. The head house elf's name is Winky. She'll be the one to talk to."

"Not a problem, Hermione," Ernie nodded.

They talked for a bit about design before they started on some flyers and continued discussing decorations and food. The meeting went a bit longer than usual that night, but they were all excited to put on something special for the students, even Malfoy, who seemed to have a lot of opinions about decorations.

They each took their stack of flyers for their respective commons rooms and left the room together, "Granger, should we plan on a shopping trip the weekend before Halloween?" he asked as they came to their split, Luna and Ernie already on their own routes.

"Yes, sounds like good timing."

"Great, maybe we can grab a drink as well, you know, if we'll be there anyway," he gave her an almost unnoticeable wink and turned to leave before she could answer, "Goodnight."

"I - night, Malfoy." She watched after him for a moment with an amused, but apprehensive look on her face before she sighed and headed up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	8. Rumor Has It

**Chapter 8:** Rumor Has It

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Ready, Granger?" Draco asked as they stood, wands pointed at each other in front of the Dueling Club members.

"Always," she said with confidence.

"_Levicorpus_!"

"_Protego_!"

The spell was deflected and Hermione gave him a smug smile.

"Alright, alright, but we should show them what it does," Draco said, "Let me hit you this time."

"Fine," she huffed as the students chuckled in the crowd.

"_Levicorpus_!" Hermione braced herself for it as she was lifted off the ground, her body hovering in the air for a few seconds before Draco set her back down, "_Liberacorpus_."

"Whoa!" "Cool!" "Awesome!" came the excited whispers from the students.

"Alright, if you'll break out into your groups, you'll find the curse, protection charm, _and_ the counter curse you'll need for practice today. We'll start walking around to observe," Hermione said to them with a smile.

As the students lined up at their stations, Hermione turned to Draco, "You just had to show them that one, didn't you?"

"Oh come on, it's a fun one to see," he grinned at her.

"I'll get you back for it the next time we do a 'fun' spell to see."

"Looking forward to it," he said as he put his hands in his pockets and wandered off towards the sixth and seventh years.

Hermione surveyed the rest of the groups for a few minutes, calling out recommendations as she had them, before moving to work with the first years.

"Came over to give a quick teaching moment," Draco said to the group of sixth years before Gabriel had a chance to attack his Slytherin opponent, "Looking around the room I've seen some interestingly flourishing wands, so I wanted to give a little more color. You'll want the wand motion to be fluid in almost a circular motion," he demonstrated slowly, "And a clear incantation, with the emphasis on 'CORE', _Levi_-_CORE_-_pus_. Gabriel, you're up next if you want to give it a shot."

Gabriel gave him an appreciative smile, practicing the wand motion at his side inconspicuously before he stepped up.

"Give it a good one," the Slytherin across the way, Christian Crabbe, said with a tinge of smugness. Christian was the younger cousin of Vincent Crabbe and Draco had been doing his best to give him some extra attention in Potions classes; try to steer him in the right direction. He could sense a darker side to the boy, like Vincent, but had hopes that with some mentoring, he would turn out alright. He reminded Draco a bit of himself at Hogwarts, for better or worse; bad family name, but a lot of potential. He'd seemed to be open to Draco's mentoring so far, though they hadn't addressed Draco's part in his cousin's death yet. Nor did he know if Christian was aware of what had happened.

Gabriel took a deep breath, "_Levi__cor__pus_!"

Christian's confidence was wiped off his face as the curse hit him soundly and he rose up in the air, arms flailing a bit as he lost control of his body's movement.

"Well done, Gabriel," Draco said, "Now the counter curse is just _Liberacorpus_ with the opposite wand movement."

"_Liberacorpus_," Gabriel flourished his wand in the other direction and Christian was set back on his feet.

"Great job, if anyone's got questions, looks like you can just ask Gabriel," he grinned at the boy before moving over to the seventh year station.

At the end of the meeting, Hermione directed the attention of the students again, "Great job to everyone on the curses and protection charms today. This one is a little more advanced so we'll definitely devote another meeting to it in the future. Just as a reminder, we put up flyers this morning in all of your common rooms to announce the Halloween Masquerade Ball we'll be throwing as a house unity event," there were whispers that broke out around the room as she continued, "We hope this event will bring all of the houses together to celebrate and mingle outside of your own house. I can't stress enough the importance of coming together and being open to all of our differences and embracing them to build a stronger future for the wizarding world," Draco was looking at her from the side with a crooked smile on his face, "And also, of course, we hope you have a lot of fun with your friends celebrating a long weekend."

A few of the older students whooped and clapped at the last part as the whispers got louder, the excitement for the event evident.

"Alright, time to get everyone back to their common rooms before we hit curfew!" Draco called to the group.

The students, talking animatedly, started filing out of the room and back to their houses.

"That was a nice little speech," Draco said to her as they started their cleanup.

"I think it's important to explain what's behind the event. I think the impact of house unity gets lost when you're just enjoying your teenage years with your friends, but it's so much more than just a fun dance. The younger generation intermingling and working together is what's going to make a change in this world."

"Like Gryffindors and Slytherins finding common ground, becoming friends, making connections," Draco said nonchalantly.

"Exactly like that. You're great with the kids, you know. I saw your teaching moment with Gabriel. They really seem to like you."

"That's because they don't know about my past. To them I'm just a professor who is phenomenal at Potions and likes to joke around with my colleague."

"Your past doesn't have to define you, Malfoy," she said, her brows furrowing sadly at his comment.

"It's also not something I can just erase," he said quietly, "Shall we call it a night?"

"Yes, we probably should," she agreed, acknowledging that he didn't want to talk about it right now.

They walked back to the Entrance Hall talking about their upcoming trip to Hogsmeade in a few weeks and the stores they'd need to hit before they came to their split and went their separate ways.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The next evening, Hermione and Ron returned to their room after the staff meeting and took to their opposite sides of the couch to read.

"How was your day?" Ron asked her.

"It was fine," she said, looking up from the book she'd just opened, "Had a rambunctious group of third years who couldn't stop talking about the ball. How was yours?"

"Well actually, I heard something funny today, Hermione," Ron said, looking at her sideways on the couch. This is clearly what he'd wanted to talk about when he'd started the conversation.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" she asked, setting her book aside for now.

"One of my first year flying lesson students — Patrick, he was talking about how much he loved the Dueling Club and when I asked him what his favorite part was he said, aside from learning really cool fighting magic, that you and Malfoy were really funny together. Made a great pair."

"Oh," Hermione said, caught by surprise, "I guess maybe he thinks the bickering is amusing."

"Seems to think you and Malfoy get on quite well, actually," Ron said, "Said it was cool to see that teachers were friends and could have fun like students do."

Hermione opened her mouth without knowing what to say while they looked at each other before she finally gave an exasperated sigh, "I mean we get on just fine now and yes, I would say we're friends. We don't have to be enemies forever. Why is that a big deal?"

"Just thought it was interesting that you haven't mentioned your friendship with him," he shrugged.

"Seems like it bothers you?"

"Of course it bothers me, Hermione. He used to be really cruel to all of us, _especially_ me. Not exactly someone I want my fiance to be best friends with."

"He's not the same person he was at Hogwarts," she defended him, "I know he was mean then, but he's not anymore. I just think it's time we put the past in the past and let him move forward."

"I can't believe you're siding with him," he shook his head.

"I'm not _siding_ with him. Harry's been friendly with him as well," she pointed out, "It's really not a big deal."

"Then why haven't you mentioned it?" he asked.

"Because I knew you'd react like this," she retorted, "And I also don't appreciate you commenting on who I can and can't be friends with."

"Hermione, it's _Malfoy_," Ron said, "He used to call you a—well you know. He doesn't deserve a second chance."

"I'm quite aware of what he used to do," she said sharply, "And I'm telling you it's not who he is anymore. It's just who he thought he was raised to be."

"Ugh, are you going to start talking about that stupid philosophy book again," Ron leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"No, I'm certainly not going to try talking about philosophy with _you_," she grabbed her book again and opened it.

"Thank Merlin," he grabbed a magazine from the coffee table and started flipping through it, turning the pages a bit harshly.

The conversation was over for the night and another hour later Ron retreated to the bedroom while Hermione sprawled out, with the couch to herself. It was a tough realization that her future husband would never sit down and have an enlightened conversation about things like philosophy that were important to her. But it just wasn't who he was and it never would be. She fell asleep there eventually, her book perched on her chest, rising and falling with her breathing.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Over the next couple of weeks, the professors worked together to create a list of activities for the Unity event and compile a list of supplies they would need from the village to pull it off. The professors had another outing to Hogsmeade for drinks, which Draco intentionally evaded, although Hermione had done her best to persuade him otherwise. She'd felt something was missing during the day, without him there, but tried to ignore the feeling as she was still happy to be spending the time with her other friends. It went similarly to the first with a refreshing afternoon of butterbeers that turned into an evening of firewhiskey and an evening of dropping Ron into bed to pass out while she slept on the couch. It was finally the weekend before the Masquerade Ball, which meant it was also the weekend before the last Dueling Club of the month — competition week.

"Hope you've been studying up on your spells this month," Draco quipped as they wandered down the path from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade, "Wouldn't want you to meet another embarrassing defeat."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "It was absolutely not an _embarrassing_ defeat. I'm not worried about taking you on again, Malfoy. You know you got lucky with using a spell I hadn't heard before."

"It's not luck, it's cunning, Granger," the smugness in his tone didn't bother her for some reason. It was almost endearing.

"Always a Slytherin."

"We need to embrace the differences in other houses, don't we?" He quoted her, "Intermingle and such?"

"Using my words against me," she joked.

They entered the town and started on their rounds to the different stores, collecting all the supplies they would need to transform the Great Hall into a Halloween spectacle. It took three hours and seven stores, but they finally had everything they needed stowed away in a small bag Hermione had charmed.

"So how about that drink now?" Draco asked with his eyebrows raised.

"I don't know, Malfoy, we should get back up to the castle, shouldn't we?" The indecision was written all over her face. She knew it wasn't a good idea, but she clearly wanted to.

"What difference is one drink going to make?" He was very convincing.

"Alright, one drink," she agreed, and he lead the way to the Three Broomsticks.

They sat at a table in the back where the only chairs were kitty-corner to each other around a small circular table.

"Did you enjoy the first Quidditch game of the season?" Draco asked her as they waited for Madam Rosmerta to pop over to them.

"I don't fancy Quidditch much, honestly," Hermione said, "But it was great to see all the students get so excited for it."

"Even though it was just Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff."

"_House Unity_, Malfoy," Hermione chided in a sing-song voice.

"What'll it be?" Madam Rosmerta had finally made her way to their table.

"I'll take a firewhiskey," Draco said, clasping his hands on the table.

"Just a butterbeer for me," Hermione gave the barmaid a polite smile.

"Granger, we're out for a drink!" Draco grinned at her.

"Fine, alright, I'll get a firewhiskey as well," she conceded, she'd secretly been wanting to try it for a long time, but Ron's drinking always got so out of hand that she never let herself have anything harder than butterbeer so she could deal with him.

Madam Rosmerta jotted down their orders and moved on to the next table.

"I was just kidding," Draco chuckled, shaking his head, "Do you want me to grab her and change it back to a butterbeer?"

"No, I actually want to try firewhiskey, just too chicken to order it," she gave him a crooked smile back.

"Alright, just making sure," he leaned back, throwing his arm over the back of the seat cushion, "So Granger, tell me something I don't know about you."

"Give me some context. What do you want to know about?"

"Your childhood," he tilted his head to the side, "Plenty I don't know about that."

"Alright," she nodded, thinking, "Well I grew up in a muggle suburb north of London called Heathgate. I went to school from the age of five to ten with other muggles learning about math and science and history and on my eleventh birthday I received a letter from Hogwarts explaining that I was a witch and had been admitted to wizarding school."

"So did you know you were a witch at all? Before that?" He looked at her with concern.

"Not definitively. I knew I was different. Things happened around me that none of us could explain so I think we were all a bit relieved when I got the letter from Hogwarts. I'm a very logical person and it drove me crazy that muggle logic wasn't enough to explain why windows in the car would vanish if I complained long enough about wanting to feel the fresh air as we drove, or why a glass would break when I would throw a tantrum as a child."

"That must have been maddening."

"Incredibly," she said, "But then it all made sense and I came to hogwarts."

"Your parents weren't terrified of sending you away to wizard school when they know nothing about the world?"

"Well, we actually met with Professor McGonagall before the start of the school year; all muggleborns met with one of the professors for a briefing. She explained the curriculum at Hogwarts and the general overview of the wizarding world and how it all worked. After speaking with her, they were very comfortable sending me along. And very proud to have a witch in the family. They've always been supportive."

Draco nodded, "That's interesting. Never considered what you muggleborns had to learn before you arrived."

Madam Rosmerta returned with their glasses of firewhiskey, setting them down in front of each of them before wandering away again.

"Your turn, Malfoy," Hermione took a sip of her drink, feeling her throat burn pleasantly from the amber liquid, "Tell me something I don't know."

"There's not a lot you'd want to know," he tried to dismiss her question.

"Friendships aren't all about the happy times," she said matter-of-factly, "You had to hear about my fight with Ron. We talked about your stories from the war. It's okay to tell me something that makes you uncomfortable. That's what friends do."

He sighed, knowing she was right, it's not like they hadn't already delved into the things he usually tried to hide, "Alright, give me context. What do you want to know about."

"Why are you back at Hogwarts? Why did your mother want you to apply here?"

"Going for the hard-hitting questions early," he commented as he decided how to answer her, "She wanted me to apply because I closed myself off after the war," his tone was casual but his body tense as he leaned forward on the table to keep their conversation private, "I retreated to the Manor for years continuing my own studies in potions, among other things, because I didn't want to face the wizarding world after my trial. Since I didn't want to return to Hogwarts after the Battle with everyone else, my mother worked out an arrangement of sorts with Professor McGonagall so that I could complete coursework on my own and take all of the NEWT exams from the Manor. McGonagall tried to persuade me to come back and take my classes at the school of course, but I wasn't ready."

"Why? You were exonerated." They we're talking closely now, but she didn't back away, too interested in his story, the hustle and bustle around them fading into the background.

"Officially, yes," he gave a dark laugh, "But that's not how society sees me. The looks I get from people when I do go out are... well, they're not welcoming."

"So why come to Hogwarts?"

"My mother just wanted me to get myself back out into the world, she was sad to see me wasting my life at the Manor. When she saw the Potions post open up she suggested it to me and I could hear the hope in her voice and I didn't want to let her down again. I applied as a gesture to her and I honestly didn't think I'd get it. Then I did and she was so happy for me that I couldn't back out."

"It was brave of you to put yourself out there again," she said softly.

"I wouldn't call it brave."

"You're facing something that scares you head on while pursuing something that's important to you. Sounds brave to me."

His lip curled up as he took in the girl across from him, there was something so genuine about her, "Sweet of you to say."

"Are you happy that you followed through with it and came to teach?"

"I am now," he said as they looked at each other.

"Hermione?" Came Ron's voice through her thoughts.

She turned her head and blinked a few times, her brain acknowledging Ron and Harry standing in front of their table, "Ron, hi, what are you doing out in Hogsmeade?"

Draco leaned back, looking unenthusiastic about the intrusion.

"Came down with Harry to look at Quidditch gear since you were busy with Masquerade Ball activities today," he looked between the two, who had a bit of distance between them now.

"We just finished up," Hermione said defensively, "We were just grabbing a quick drink after a long day of shopping."

"You're not usually one for firewhiskey," he said eyeing her drink, "Does that seem like something you should be drinking in the middle of the day?"

"Seems like she should be able to decide what she can and can't drink, Weasley," Draco said pointedly, keeping his tone conversational.

"Malfoy, it's fine," she said, trying to keep her own voice even as she turned back to Ron, "I just thought it'd be fun to try, it's not a big deal and it's just one glass." She didn't appreciate feeling judged, by Ron of all people, about drinking.

"How did the shopping go?" Harry interjected as Ron opened his mouth to respond, "Find everything you needed?"

"We've got everything we came for now," Draco redirected his gaze to Harry, "We'll be heading back up to the castle soon to start on some of the charms for the decorations."

"A group of us are going out to play some Quidditch with the students tomorrow afternoon, would you want to join us?" Harry asked and Ron huffed audibly.

"Sounds wonderful," Draco said, "Count me in."

"Great, well Ron and I should be going, shouldn't we, Ron?" Harry nudged his friend who looked like he had a lot more to say before he saw the look Harry was giving him not to cause a scene.

"Fine," he turned from the table, mumbling some version of goodbye and stomped off towards the exit.

Harry gave Hermione a weary glance and waved to the both of them as he followed.

Hermione looked down at her drink, avoiding Draco's eye as her heart beat fast in her chest.

"He didn't seem pleased to see us here," Draco quipped.

"I'll deal with it later," she said quietly.

"Sorry if I was out of line but I didn't like how he was talking to you."

"I know," she let out a heavy breath, "It's fine."

"I'm guessing I'm not growing on him very much?"

"No, he holds his grudges," she gave him an apologetic look, "He's not all bad. But he's got his moments."

"Well he shouldn't be telling you what you can and can't do."

"No, he shouldn't. But I would have told him that later."

"How often _do_ you two fight?" He asked seriously.

She hesitated, "Often enough."

"Then why stay with him?"

"My reason has always been because those reactions he has, the fights we have, they're a result of how he deals with his trauma from the war," she looked at him directly, knowing it didn't make sense but trying to get him to understand how she'd always seen it, "I don't sleep, Ron gets a bit harsh sometimes, Harry has nightmares, Neville sees a therapist, Ginny distracts herself with exercising too much, we all have our coping habits. Things aren't always good with us, but I know where it comes from and it's not against me even if it seems like it is."

"Granger, I don't want to sound harsh myself, but that sounds like an excuse for staying with someone who's not treating you nicely. You're much better than that. You deserve... better."

"It's not an excuse," she liked that he thought she deserved something better, but he didn't see the whole story, "I'm not always the nicest to him either. You saw a bad side to him today but I have my bad side too when I bite at him for something that's not a big deal."

"Maybe the two of you just don't work well together," he suggested, "Maybe you trigger each other and would both be better off with someone else."

She sighed, "Maybe you're right," taking another sip of her drink before setting her glass down and resting her hand on the table.

"Sorry, I know it's not my place," he covered her hand with his and squeezed it gently, before pulling it back and grabbing his own glass again, "Just trying to give you my advice, you know, as a friend."

Her whole body warmed at his touch and she swallowed hard, trying to think of an appropriate response, "It's — that's fine, really. That _is_ a thing that friends do. I appreciate your honesty," she gave him a half smile and cupped her glass with both her hands, hoping the cold glass would help cool her down a bit. Harry squeezed her hand sometimes. That was a friendly gesture. But it never made her feel like _that_. She felt the guilt creep into her stomach again. Draco's touch made her lose her train of thought every time. Maybe she shouldn't have came out for a drink with him. But she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this kind of excitement and intrigue at getting to know someone on this level. She wanted to sit there for hours talking about the things in life that mattered. She wanted to know about his past. She wanted to know what he wanted in the future. She wanted him to look at her with those piercing eyes and make her brain forget to breathe. She immediately disregarded the last of those thoughts.

"Shall we head back up to the castle?" He drained the last sip in his glass.

"Yes, I think it's been eventful enough in Hogsmeade today."

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

She'd returned to her room later that evening to embark on a loud yelling match with Ron about her outing with Malfoy. He didn't want her to be friends with him, didn't want her to talk to him, couldn't accept that he was allowed to move on from his past. She'd told him he was being ridiculous. Her and Malfoy were partners for their Dueling Club, among the many other professor activities they were assigned to together and she wasn't going to abandon her duties because he couldn't get over a high school grudge. They'd gone to sleep separately that night, Hermione on the couch and Ron in the bedroom. It was better that way, they'd just pretend in the morning that it had never happened and they'd get breakfast together, like they always did.

However there was a feeling creeping up in her stomach that maybe Draco was right and they didn't have to live this way. Maybe they weren't right for each other. The feeling had been growing for a while now and it was starting to push its way forward into her conscious thoughts where it was much harder to ignore. And maybe she didn't want to ignore it.

Ron was not the man that filled her dreams that night. The man that did had strikingly blond hair and grey eyes, and he whispered things in her ear that made her sigh in her sleep. Because, as a wise wizard once said, "_In dreams we enter a world that is entirely our own._"

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N**: Hope you enjoyed that chapter! I condensed and consolidated two longer chapters into this one long chapter to try and get more out to you and move things along so we can get to the part everyone's looking forward to. We're close. I promise. The gears are in motion and the action is going to start rolling through the next couple chapters :) I just get excited to write certain conversations, to let the story play out in what I think is a "realistic" timeline of events, and include certain aspects of the story, like scenes with the students, and it's hard to hone back after it's written. But I do TRULY hope you're enjoying so far. You will get your romance soon!


	9. The Masquerade Ball

**Chapter 9: **The Masquerade Ball

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

_His finger was tracing her jawline and she felt her heart trying to make its way out of her chest in anticipation. His eyes were boring into hers making everything around them disappear as her mind silently screamed at him to come closer. His lip curled up, almost like he could read her thoughts and he began to close the gap between them. She tilted her head ever so slightly, leaning up towards him without hesitation, ready to be swept away in everything she'd been begging to feel, ready to give in..._

"Hermione, do you know where my gear bag is?" Ron's unwelcomed voice tore her from her dream world and she blinked, heart still beating like it had been real, "Hermione? _Hermione_?" He popped his head in from the living room at her lack of response to his calls.

"It's..." she mumbled, shaking her head a little and willing her heart rate to stabilize again so she could think, "I think I saw it under the table."

He dipped back out of the room and she heard an "Aha! Thanks." Before the door opened and closed.

She sighed, turning onto her back and staring at the ceiling. Maybe if she tried to go back to sleep she could put herself back into the same dream._Or maybe_, her brain nudged her, _if she made some changes, the dream could just be a reality_. She groaned, covering her eyes with her arm as her previously subconscious thoughts spoke their mind. She'd have to give it her attention soon, she knew that, but there was a lot going on this week. She threw the covers off and pulled herself from bed to get ready for her first class of the day.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"My sickles are on you this week, Professor Granger!" Fiona called out as Hermione and Draco met in the middle of the classroom, a proud grin on each of their faces and the students around them cheering.

"I'll put my sickles on Professor Malfoy!" Called Christian back at her.

"No betting on the duels!" Hermione chided with a laugh as she and Draco sized each other up, raising and lowering their wands before turning and walking their strides, facing each other again with wands raised.

"_Stupify_!" Hermione shouted as Draco jumped on the defense with a protection charm.

"_Levicorpus_!" He responded as Hermione dove sideways, rolling to her feet again.

"_Petrificus Totalus_!"

"_Protego! Repete Verba__!_"

Hermione deflected the jinx and shot one back without losing her momentum this time. He'd tripped her up with that one before and it wasn't going to happen again.

Draco circled around her as she moved swiftly on her feet to keep him in her line of sight, "_Stupify_!"

Hermione leapt to the side, wand never wavering from its target, "_Expelliarmus_!"

Her quick comeback caught him off his guard and he jumped behind the front desk as Hermione tiptoed quietly to one side, waiting for him to reappear as the crowd egged them on in excitement.

"_Bombarda_!" Draco pointed his wand at the floor around the corner of the desk, but she'd gone in the opposite direction and it hit the invisible wall of the bubble they'd put around them, exploding loudly.

"Over here, Malfoy," she taunted him as she listened hard for his next move. She heard him take a step around the corner of the desk and took a quick glance at the pillows on the floor close by, "_Locomotor Pillows_!"

The pile of pillows on the ground rose into the air and she whipped her wand around at the side of the desk as Draco stepped out from behind it.

"_Stupi_\- ARGH!" he exclaimed as the pillows flew into him with such force that it knocked him backwards off his feet.

"_Expelliarmus_!" Hermione shouted, his wand flying out of his hand and onto the ground behind him.

She walked to stand over him, "Do you surrender?" she said coyly.

He sighed, his body relaxing on the floor, "Yes, I concede Granger."

The students cheered behind her as she held out her hand and helped him back to his feet, "Lucky shot," he said quietly in her ear, sending her body into all kinds of chaos, before he let her hand go and turned to grab his wand.

She cleared her throat as a blush crept up her neck and turned back with a grin to the room of students who were pumping their fists in the air and whistling.

"Alright, alright, she won fair and square," Draco said in a faux-huffy voice as he returned to her side.

"And the scoreboard goes to 1-1," she said.

"Just wanted it to be a fair fight."

She rolled her eyes at him and everyone laughed, "Alright, everyone off to your common rooms. Go tell the tale of how Professor Malfoy was _fairly_ beaten by Professor Granger in a duel."

There were more rumbles of laughter and sighs of having to leave for the night as they trickled out. If she listened closely she could make out the excited snippets of conversations about the Masquerade Ball.

"_Pillows_," Draco shook his head at her once the last of them were out the door.

"Pillows," she smiled, "Popped into my head out of nowhere."

"It was a good one," he said, looking impressed.

"I know," she said confidently, directing the pillows into their storage bin as Draco took down the bubble charms and replaced desks around the room, "Did you really think you were going to get me with that spell again?"

"Had to give it a shot, didn't I? It's my own personal spell and I'm very proud of it. It's an impressive one. Besides, it worked the first time to at least throw you off."

Hermione sighed, he was obviously goading her, "Alright, let's see what it does, then."

Draco turned towards her with a look of faint surprise, "Really? You'll let me hit you with it?"

"Well you keep talking about it so I fear I may never hear the end of it if I don't just let you show it off."

"That's very true," he walked a bit closer, pointing his wand at her as she braced herself. When he was just a couple of feet away he stopped and cleared his throat, "_Repete Verba_."

It hit her soundly and she could feel the pressure on her vocal cords not allowing her to speak for a moment.

"Draco Malfoy is extremely talented," he paused for a brief second, thinking, "And very attractive."

Hermione wanted with all of her might to say something witty back about how full of himself he was, but from seemingly nowhere she felt the words spill out of her mouth, "Draco Malfoy is extremely talented and very attractive." The sensation on her vocal cords fizzled and she felt a strong blush take over her features again.

"Didn't know you felt that way, Granger," he said with a wicked grin.

She reached out and slapped his arm playfully, trying simultaneously to cool down her embarrassment since she did, indeed, agree with the statement, "You're a prat," she said, "Did you know that?"

He laughed, "I was just showing you what the spell did."

She narrowed her eyes but couldn't help but grin back, the spell really was impressive, especially if he'd created it on his own. Spellwork was an intricate science and it had worked seamlessly. She took a deliberate step back with a huff of feigned annoyance and returned to cleaning, "I don't know why I put up with you."

"Because McGonagall put it in your job description," he said smugly, very proud of himself as he also returned to their task, "Did you find some time to get an outfit for the Ball?"

"Yes, Ginny and I went Sunday afternoon while you boys were off playing Quidditch," she said, her face feeling like the color had likely returned to normal as she levitated a desk back to its place.

"Very nice, looking forward to seeing what you found," he said nonchalantly.

"You'll have to guess who I am. Not giving you any clues as to what kind of mask I got."

"I do like to play games," he said in a low voice as he glanced over at her, a certain twinkle in his eye.

She raised her eyebrows at him, "Well then, the game will be on."

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hermione and Ginny walked into the Great Hall on Friday evening in full Masquerade Ball attire. They had spent the majority of the day with the rest of the professors setting up the room for the event and they were very proud of how it turned out. The day had been a little awkward, with Malfoy interacting with her as he always did, friendly and joking, and Ron nearby, pointedly paying her extra attention and doing as he was told with the decorations. She didn't want him to feel jealous, but she could tell he did. She also didn't want Malfoy to think she acted differently towards him around Ron than she did around just him, so it was a balancing act all day.

Harry did his best to facilitate a good atmosphere for them all. He'd been trying to include Malfoy in activities the last couple of months as well, going as far as to drag him out for a one-on-one drink in Hogsmeade on Wednesday evening. He'd commended Hermione on being open with her friendship with Malfoy as well, hoping if they showed unity with him, others would follow suit. She appreciated his support but also knew there was more to their friendship than Harry saw. And he would not be commending her for the thoughts she had about Malfoy in private.

Hermione and Ginny had told Harry and Ron that they'd meet them in the Great Hall, as to make an entrance for them to appreciate their effort of putting together masquerade outfits.

As they walked in, she scanned the room, her eyes finding the flash of blonde hair her brain was really looking for and she subconsciously smiled, his back turned to her, meaning he hadn't noticed her yet. She'd find Ron first and make Malfoy hunt for her like she'd said. The game was on.

"They're over there," Ginny pointed, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards them.

"So, what do you think," Ginny said suavely to Harry as they approached, doing a three hundred and sixty degree turn for him in stride.

"Stunning, as always, Ginny," he said, pulling her to him with a kiss.

"You look very nice," Ron said with an awkward smile, "Haven't seen that before, is it new?"

"Yes, I picked it up on Sunday when Ginny and I went out," she told him. He looked like he really did think she looked pretty, but he had never been one to adequately express his feelings and she felt an internal disappointment with the reaction. It wasn't any different than usual, she just felt herself wanting more.

"Good pick," he threw an arm over her shoulder, a gesture that they were on good terms tonight, and they turned to talk with Harry and Ginny until the festivities began.

"Alright, good evening everyone — I said _good evening__,_" McGonagall called over the crowd of students who were slowly quieting down, "Welcome to the House Unity Halloween Masquerade Ball! As you'll see we have a dance floor here in the middle for our concert later tonight, and around the edges of the dance floor you'll find our house unity activities and games. At each of these stations you'll be randomly paired with a student from another house to participate. Before we get started, I just wanted to thank the heads of houses for their role in putting this whole charade together," she looked over her glasses at the students, "I truly hope you take advantage of the opportunity to intermingle with your fellow students. It is of the utmost importance that we all find common ground on which to walk in the wizarding world."

She stepped down off of the stage that had been set up, and wandered off towards the refreshments. The sea of students began chattering again and Hermione politely removed herself from the group to oversee her activity station nearby.

Draco's gaze found Hermione as she wandered across the Great Hall towards her game station. She was wearing a floor length green satin dress and a gold, lace mask with an emerald crystal dropping down from the center on the bridge of her nose. Her hair had been tamed, much like he remembered it had at the Yule Ball, not that he had let himself think _then_ that he'd paid her any attention. But it was wavy, not frizzy, and framing her face in a way that made him want to run his hands through it. The thought made him smile. How had he never noticed back then how beautiful this girl was. He'd been too blinded by the hate that was taught to him. He noticed some of the students wandering over to her station and he snapped himself back to reality, looking around for his own station that he'd be manning.

Hermione had been assigned the levitation game she'd name the Pygmy Puff Placement Challenge. The object of the game was to have two teams of two students of different houses face off to levitate an array of Pygmy puff toys, that had been charmed to run around their pen, into their team boxes. The team with the most Pygmy puffs accumulated in one minute won each house of that team two points.

Patrick from Hufflepuff had been teamed up with his friend Erica from Ravenclaw, and they were facing off against another girl from Ravenclaw and a boy from Gryffindor.

"Ready, and, begin!" Hermione started the hovering timer which counted down from sixty seconds and the students began their _Wingardium Leviosa_charms at each of the Pygmy Puff toys in the pen. The game was quite funny and exciting as the students aimed at the Pygmy, catching one every few tries and directing it to their box, and the Pygmy ran haphazardly around in circles, running into each other and the perimeter, in turn.

After a couple hours of students filing around to different events and being paired with other houses for games, McGonagall stepped back onto the stage and everyone quieted down to listen.

"Without further ado, I'd like to introduce our musical act for the evening, but as I hear it, they need no introduction," she motioned for them offstage to join her and a well known band called the Bent-Winged Snitches stepped up into the light to wild applause as she descended the stairs. They started in on some of their more popular songs as the students crowded the stage and sang the words together.

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest with a smile as she watched, thinking back on the Yule Ball with the Weird Sisters.

"Found you," a low voice whispered near her ear.

Her smile broadened without meaning to and she turned her head to see Draco standing very close to her.

"Took you long enough," she said smartly.

"I noticed you earlier, but we had students to entertain. You look quite beautiful, you know. Green looks right on you."

_Breathe_, she reminded herself, "Well aren't you a gentleman. You look very nice as alw- as well," she cleared her throat a little, "I like the mask."

He was wearing a crisp black suit with a black shirt and an emerald green tie, and his black mask covered just one eye. It almost made the blue in his eyes stand out more against the stark black.

"Thank you, I thought it had a nice air of mystery to it."

"Much like its owner."

He grinned at her, taking in her appearance again, "If I didn't know any better, I would have thought we'd come together."

She watched his eyes move down her and felt that warm feeling inside her stomach again. Did he know he had this effect on her? It wasn't fair.

"Hermione, do you know where Ginny went?" Harry asked as he joined them.

"No, sorry, Harry, I didn't see her come by."

"No matter," he waved his hand, "She'll show back up. How's it going, Malfoy?"

"Good, Potter, enjoying the evening."

The professors started to congregate near the back of the room during the concert, Ron pointedly standing in between Hermione and Draco as he joined them. Draco excused himself, heading to the refreshments as Hermione tried not to let her eyes follow him.

"I can't believe McGonagall allowed the Bent-Winged Snitches to play here," Luna said with a look of disapproval at the stage.

Neville leaned over towards Hermione and Ron, "She thinks the guitarist is really a vampire named Sookie Silks who was arrested for poaching Sphinxes. According to Luna, rumor had it that he liked the game of answering their riddles before he drank their blood. But anyway, he's said to have escaped from a secret prison in Albania where he was being held for research."

Hermione gave some version of an "Ah," face, nodding her head in understanding. Not actual understanding, because that was ludicrous, but in understanding of Luna's look of disapproval.

"I just can't believe McGonagall wouldn't let us have any real drinks here for the professors." Ron said in a disappointed voice as Hermione turned back to him.

"Ron, it's a school dance," she said incredulously, "For the _kids_ and _house unity_."

"Doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to have fun, too."

"I think you should be able to have a fine time without it."

"Merlin, don't get on my case, Hermione," he rolled his eyes and she could almost feel his frustration emulating from him as her own frustration started to bubble up.

"I'm not getting on your case," she replied, "I just think it's already a fun event, you can just enjoy it for what it is."

"Oh you can go out and drink with Malfoy on a _shopping_ trip, but I can't make a comment about how I wish there were drinks at the ball," he said in an accusatory tone with a shake of his head,

"It was _one_ drink, Ronald—."

"And yes, for the record, you absolutely were getting on my —," he cut himself off as Hannah walked up to them.

"Everything looks really beautiful, Hermione," she said, "You did a great job with decorations for the event.".

"Thank you," she smiled at the girl and tried to remove the edge she felt from her response. She'd never talked to Hannah much, but she seemed sweet and she didn't want to come off rudely, "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I'm going to refill my punch."

She walked away from Ron with a deep breath, hoping to avoid whatever fight was afoot, and over to the refreshments where Draco was leaning against the table watching the concert, "Hiding from everyone?" She asked.

"Not everyone," he gave her a half smile.

She grabbed the ladle from the punch and poured some more into her glass, settling next to him before taking a sip, "Someone's spiked this," she commented, looking down at it.

"Of course they have. Wouldn't be a ball if they didn't."

She sighed, turning back to the bowl and vanishing it's contents, "Winky," she said, and in a *POP, the house elf appeared.

"Hello, miss Hermione."

"Good evening, Winky. How are you?"

"Very good, miss, what can Winky do for you? Winky is here to help."

"We'll just need a new batch of punch."

"Winky will refill it right away," with that, the house elf disapparated.

"Are you going to vanish your own?" Draco asked cheekily.

"No, I don't think I will," she grinned back at him, feeling like it was a little win over Ron's comment, "How about you come back over with everyone else?"

He grumbled under his breath before responding, "Fine, but only to appease you."

They wandered back over to Harry, who had found Ginny again, Ron talking with Hannah close by and eyeing their approach warily.

"Good band, huh?" Ginny said, her hips swaying slightly in time with the beat.

Hermione nodded, "Yes, they're wonderful. The students seem to love them."

"They've got nothing on the Weird Sisters," Ron walked up next to Harry, purposefully avoiding Draco's eye to pretend he wasn't there.

Over Ron's shoulder, Hermione noticed Hannah walking over to join Luna, whose back was purposefully turned from the stage, "I don't know, I might like them better," she said thoughtfully as she internally compared the two bands.

"I agree," Draco said, partially just to get Ron's attention. He didn't like being ignored. Even if he'd been the one to try and avoid everyone a few minutes ago.

"I don't remember asking your opinion," Ron said and Hermione felt her shoulders hunch over in defeat. Ron clearly didn't have any intention of playing nice with Draco tonight. The beginning of the disagreement they'd started getting into a few minutes ago likely hadn't helped.

"Well I'm standing here in the conversation so I thought it was an open forum."

"Of course it is," Harry looked at Ron a bit annoyed. He wasn't looking back at him.

"It actually isn't," Ron corrected shortly, "I certainly didn't invite you to the conversation."

"Ron, don't," Hermione said before she could stop herself.

He turned his head towards her, "What, are you going to defend him again?"

"_Again_? have you been fighting about me already?" Draco was not at all upset to know that he'd come up in their disagreements.

"I just don't really think you deserve the _second chance_that they're giving you," Ron said matter-of-factly, "It's as simple as that."

"You're entitled to your opinion," Draco kept his voice emotionless, though the tension was apparent. He didn't much think he deserved it, either.

"Ron, this isn't the time, mate," Harry said quietly, trying to talk sense into his friend. He wanted Draco to feel included and this certainly wasn't the way to achieve that.

"Why not?" Ron snipped, getting more frustrated with his friends' opposition to his opinion, "All the students are busy, why can't I speak my mind?" He turned back to Draco, "I don't think you deserve a second chance because of the shit you put us all through in school. You can't just pretend you're a new person. You'll always be the boy that called Hermione by that foul name and made fun of me for being poor and Harry for not having parents. How can you defend that?"

Draco was silent for a moment and Hermione looked at him before looking back at Ron and opening her mouth to respond. Draco held his hand up before she had the chance, "It's fine," he said, "You're right, Weasley. I wasn't a good person then. I made bad choices and I believed things that were taught to me without challenging them. Horrible things. All I can do is apologize and I'm sorry. To all of you."

"Doesn't cut it," Ron said shortly.

"Ronald you are being incredibly rude," Hermione finally whispered harshly, "There was no reason for you to say all this, and especially no reason for you to say it in the middle of a nice evening."

Ron sputtered in disbelief at their defense of Malfoy, "Well no one else will say it so I guess I have to. He'll always be a Death Eater, and Hermione, in case you've somehow forgotten, to him, you'll always be a mudblood. Or have you just erased your memory of all the times he's called you that? _Why_ would you want to be friends with him."

Everyone was quiet now as they took a minute to process his words.

"That's not at all true, Weasley," Draco said in a voice that teetered on dangerous, "That's not what she is to me."

"I— I need to be alone for a few minutes," Hermione stepped back from the group and left the Great Hall, walking out of the castle and across the grounds to the lake, tears running down her face as she sank into the grass. The fact that Ron would even bring up the word made her angry. She knew he was just trying to make a point and that his intensity came from being triggered by Draco, and she was just about positive that he likely regretted saying it as quickly as it had come out of his mouth, but that didn't make it any better. Draco knew he hadn't been a good person. He regretted who he had been, he'd taken responsibility for it and he'd changed. She knew he still carried that regret with him and Ron didn't realize the impact reliving the actions of his past life would have on him. She was sure it would tear him apart inside. There was nothing worse than working to overcome something and being constantly pushed back down. They all knew the feeling, they all tried to move forward from the war every day.

Maybe the way Ron dealt with things really never would work with how she dealt with them. Maybe she needed to finally take a good minute to consider that she and Ron didn't need to work out in the end. She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of crunching grass behind her and she turned.

"Hey Granger."

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and looked out over the lake again as he took a seat next to her, "Hey Malfoy."

"How are you doing?" He asked, noticing the gold mask in her hands, reminding him to remove his own.

"Just angry with Ron," she said with a sniffle.

"Wasn't sure if you'd be angry with me too," he said, leaning back on his hands.

"Why would I be angry with you?" She almost laughed.

"Well he brought up a really awful thing I said to you… on multiple occasions. You know that wasn't him saying that to you, it was him reminding you that I did. I'd be angry with me if I were you. Hell, I'm angry with me anyway."

"I know why he said it, but it just wasn't necessary. That whole conversation wasn't necessary. And what happened back at Hogwarts is in the past," she shook her head, "I've told you that. "

"Is it?" He asked quietly, "Can you really overlook the things I've done? I know you try to be friendly with me, but am I ever really going to be fully removed from that person in your head?" He'd held these insecurities in for a while now as they'd gotten closer. But it was so hard for him to imagine that this wasn't just a pity party from her and Potter. He couldn't accept that they really wanted to get to know him and have him as a part of their lives.

"I'm not condoning the things you've done in your past, Malfoy, I just don't think it's who you are. You've learned and matured, and you're not that person anymore," she said simply, "There's not a doubt in my mind."

"How did you accept that so easily?"

"For a lot of reasons. I watched you try to stay on our side during the Battle of Hogwarts before your parents called you over. I know that was just family loyalty. But then I watched you walk away from the Battle and away from Voldemort. I saw the remorse in your eyes at your trial," she paused for a moment before she decidedly continued, "And then I saw you at Fred's funeral."

He looked over at her, "I didn't realize anyone saw me there."

"I've always wanted to ask why you were there," she said.

"It's a story for another time," he gave her a crooked smile and she nodded.

"And then when you came to Hogwarts I saw the change in you the first night of the Dueling Club. You lacked all of the malice you had as a kid. I could tell you were just uncomfortable and trying to navigate this situation you'd put yourself in. And then we started to become friends and I met a totally different side of you. And I think there's a lot more for me to learn about you and your past, and your present, but what's in front of me is who I think you are. Not the stuck up brat you were at Hogwarts. I don't know what happened to that boy, but you're not him."

Draco moved a few inches closer, throwing his arm over her shoulder and resting his head on hers, "You know I didn't come down here for _you_ to comfort _me_."

"Well, sometimes you get more than you bargained for, don't you."

"Indeed I do," he agreed, "But now we come back to _you_. How are you doing?"

"Better now, actually," she said, noticing that her body had relaxed into him, "I was just doing some thinking about how maybe I should do some thinking on what I want in life, and what Ron really wants in life and where those two things intersect. Or where they don't."

Draco lifted his head from hers and looked down as she looked up, "Yes, seems like a good thing to at least consider." He felt his heart beating a little faster, was she coming around to the idea that maybe she wasn't supposed to be with Ron? Even if she was, it didn't mean she wanted to be with him. He watched as her gaze fell again like it had a few weeks prior. She glanced at his lips and then back up to his eyes, going almost unnoticed. _Or maybe she would want to be with him_.

"Well, Granger," he swallowed hard, but kept his confidence, "There's a Ball tonight and you're in a beautiful dress, so I think it's only right that I make you enjoy one dance with me. Here, away from it all. Just a dance between friends."

"I suppose it might be nice," she said, leaning away from him as he stood and pulled her with him. She placed one hand on his shoulder and the other in his hand. He flicked his wand into the air, music emitting from it in a slow ballad before he placed his wand into his jacket and pulled her closer so his arm was wrapped more securely around her waist.

They moved around the grass slowly, talking about nonsensical things like classes and students to make their time in close proximity seem more appropriate. Like friends would do. But the way his hand rested on the small of her back made her want to feel his hand on her skin. Her dress felt nothing but in the way. For the best, but a nuisance nonetheless. His other hand had found a way to interlace their fingers and his thumb rubbed the outside of hers tantalizingly slowly. Maybe it was a subconscious thing he was doing, but it held a decent amount of her focus, the way it warmed her hand in a comforting but sultry way.

As he looked down at her, talking about something he could barely pay attention to, he took in the way she looked back at him. Her lips were slightly parted as she listened to whatever he was saying and her eyes were locked on his. Her body felt warm beneath his hand, even for a cool fall evening, and there was nothing he'd have liked to do more than to help her cool down by removing that dress. As his thoughts started to stray to that area he quickly pulled them back. The last thing their friendship needed was an obvious sign that it was more than that. But then again, maybe it was just time to stop pretending that there wasn't more here.

The song ended and Hermione came to a stop, pulling herself back, "I should head in, Malfoy. Check in on the students and the event and everything."

"Of course," he nodded, "I'm going to stay down here for a few minutes before I head back to the dungeons. But I'll see you on Sunday."

She smiled at him, "Thanks for coming to find me. I needed that."

She wandered her way back up to the castle that night promising herself she'd take some time to think over the next couple of weeks about what it is she wanted. Truly wanted. Because the way she had begun to feel about Draco Malfoy was making her think she'd been doing this whole thing wrong for a long time.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N**: Oh boy oh boy, here we go. Excited to get the next chapter out to you when I have it edited! This next upcoming chapter includes the first scene I wrote that inspired the rest of this story. But anyway, in this A/N I just wanted to say for the record that I love Ron, as a character, not as a romantic interest for Hermione, and I love writing normal Ron. But this story needs Ron's coping habits to be a bit harsh, which I don't think is completely out of the realm of post-war possibilities… kinda like Horcrux-locket-wearing Ron. I also feel like he would be the most likely candidate to hold his grudge against Malfoy after the war. Sorry to the other Ron lovers out there, I am trying to be as gentle as I can with him. Consider this my apology for his outbursts. As another plug, if you love normal Ron, check out my other recent fic The Look on the Platform, that story more accurately depicts how I usually like to write Ron as a character in my Dramione fics. Hope everyone had a great weekend. xx

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	10. Acknowledged

**Chapter 10:** Acknowledged

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

When Hermione returned to the Great Hall, she wasn't shocked to see Ron wasn't there anymore, and neither was Harry. Ginny told her Harry had suggested he and Ron go have a sit down and Ron had realized he'd gone too far and followed Harry from the event.

After the students headed to bed, the remaining professors helped to take down decorations and clean up before the house elves shooed them all away to finish the job.

Hermione walked into her room ready for a confrontation, unsure what state she'd find Ron in and was surprised to see him sitting on the couch, head in his hands staring at the ground.

He looked up as the door opened and sat back with a heavy exhale, "Hey Hermione."

"Ronald I think we should talk about what just happened," she started in a serious tone, assuming he'd try to do what he always did and pretend it hadn't happened.

"I know," he nodded and stood to address her, "I just talked to Harry about it for a while and before you get into it, let me say what I need to. I'm sorry my feelings towards Malfoy came out like that. And I'm even more sorry that I said that word to you."

She was shocked to find she was quite speechless from hearing a real apology come out of his mouth.

"All I can think about when I see Malfoy is how horrible he used to be to us all. And I see him standing at the manor not doing a damn thing while you were being tortured. And I don't understand your friendship with him. Or Harry's. But you're both right that it didn't need to come out like that."

"Ron I understand why he triggers you. Of course I get it. I was there for it all too. But Harry and I are allowed to forgive him as much as you're allowed to not forgive him. We both saw the remorse he held after it all and we both just wanted to give him the chance to prove himself and to us, he has. He's accepted responsibility for the things he's done and he's grown up and is trying to be a better person. That's the best anyone could ask for. Learn from your mistakes and try to move forward. If he'd walked into our first dueling club meeting the same boy he was in Hogwarts, of course I wouldn't be friends with him now, but that just wasn't the case. I'm not saying you're not allowed to be angry with him, but you need to remember that we're all professors and you need to be able to treat him with respect as a colleague. Especially in front of the students. If you have something you need to say to him, do it in private, in an adult conversation. Not like tonight where you blew up at him in the middle of the Great Hall where anyone could have overheard, not to mention where you insulted me in the process."

"I didn't mean to insult you, I just felt he didn't deserve your friendship and I didn't know how else to get through to you."

"Whether you want to accept it or not, he's a good friend. Reminding me of things he's done that I've already consciously left in the past isn't going to change that. He's not the person you're associating him with anymore."

"But Hermione, the manor—."

"He holds a lot of regret for that night at the manor. But as I've told him when he tried to apologize for it the first time, there's nothing he could have done. They'd have killed him if he tried. And at the end of the day, both Harry and I decided to let his past be his past because we can see a change and we want to believe in him. The only way he's ever going to let himself move forward is if other people let him move forward and the more I've gotten to know him, the more I hope he gets that chance."

"But he was a Death Eater," Ron pressed again, he hadn't meant to rehash the fight, but it was hard not to.

"And so was Snape," Hermione said strongly, "Snape did terrible things and treated us all awfully in Hogwarts and he was one of Dumbledore's most trusted professors. And Harry's forgiven him as well, hasn't he? You accepted that when he explained it. People makes mistakes. Big ones. But sometimes they see those mistakes and actively try to correct what they can. That's the mature thing to do."

"_Mature_," Ron snorted, "Are you really going to use that word on Malfoy?"

"I certainly am," she countered, "Honestly, Ronald, sometimes I think he's grown and matured more than you have. Like I told you, I understand you're upset and you've got the right to not be friends with him, but you need to learn how to handle your issues like an adult."

Ron closed his eyes again, trying to calm down, this wasn't what he had planned, "I hear you," he finally said through gritted teeth.

"I've forgiven him, Ron, and you need to respect that. You're welcome to go have a real conversation with Malfoy. Maybe you'd even see what we do if you tried."

Ron gave a heavy sigh, "I don't think I can forgive him and I don't think it would do any good to have a sit down. But I know we're professors and I'll try to get better about how I treat him. I told Harry I'd go fly around with them next weekend at least."

"Thank you," she said, appreciating the gesture and knowing he was likely trying to keep in mind whatever conversation he'd just had with Harry. She knew Ron had a good side to him but he was easily triggered by reminders of the war, which is what Draco was to him. She didn't fault him for that, but his temper was something he needed to keep in check. Especially around the students. And especially towards someone she cared about.

They'd gone to sleep on better terms that evening after their talk. However even then she could feel her interest in dealing with their fights waning. She knew he was more than in his own right to feel how he felt but the way he dealt with those feelings was where she took issue. A nice evening event had turned into a fiasco and she didn't feel the resolve she once had to accept an apology and sweep it under the rug. Because the apologies under the rug were starting to pile up.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hermione and Draco had spent Sunday evening planning for the Dueling club meeting and she immediately felt the stark difference between her interactions with Ron and Draco. Her and Ron always had a frustrated undertone and with Draco… it was just easy and the conversation was fluid. She tried to clear those thoughts from her mind; Ron had said he'd try. And she shouldn't be comparing Ron and Draco. It was Ron she needed to consider her relationship with and it wasn't a competition between them. Draco was her _friend..._ or something akin to that.

The next couple of weeks went by smoothly and Ron had done as promised, attending a Quidditch outing with Harry, Draco and Dean, and he had been as civil as he could, which Draco also noticed. It disheartened him the slightest bit, knowing Ron's actions towards him were part of what bothered Hermione. But he also couldn't totally root against the man she was already planning to marry. If she did marry him, _the thought made his chest tight_, but if she did, he needed Ron to at least be friendly with him so he could keep Granger in his life. In whatever capacity. She'd become oddly important to him and his sanity lately. He didn't feel the darkness around her like he felt alone. But at the same time, if an opportunity presented itself to let Hermione know there was another specific option... he couldn't promise that he wouldn't take it.

Hermione and Ron had talked briefly about wedding plans the weekend after the Masquerade Ball to try and act like everything was normal. They hadn't solidified anything, but had chosen tasks they could work on separately. Ron had asked his mother to send him the paperwork they had at the Burrow detailing the process of getting legally married and Molly had sent them early in the week in the owl post. However, a few days later he'd gotten frustrated with Hermione again as she gave him a few more tasks for wedding planning, ignoring that the previous tasks they'd both agreed to still hadn't been completed. Internally, Hermione was still trying to decide how she really felt before she spent the time entertaining wedding tasks, which was part of the hold up on her end. Assigning them was one thing, but completing them was another.

A few days after that was another fight about a bottle of firewhiskey Ron had misplaced. He'd accused her of throwing it out behind his back after a long day down at the pitch and she'd vehemently denied doing any such thing. He'd found it the next evening sitting hidden next to the couch, where he must have set it the last time he'd taken it out to pour a glass. They were currently in a state of pretending that fight hadn't happened and she had promised herself after that fight that she'd take some time over the next weekend to sit down with a pros and cons list and truly consider her relationship and decide on an outcome.

It was another Dueling Club evening and Hermione ran her hands through her hair absently as she waited for Draco in the DADA classroom, glad to be out of her room for the evening. He pushed open the door a few minutes later and she set down the paper she'd been reading.

"Evening Malfoy," she smiled at him as he sauntered in.

"Evening," he returned the look, "How were your classes today?"

"Really great, actually," she said, thinking back, "The seventh years are working on some complex facial feature transfiguration and it's been very rewarding seeing them improve week over week. Someone turned their nose into a duck bill this morning and everyone cheered."

Draco laughed as he leaned an elbow on the table, "Did they keep the duck bill, or change it back?"

"Sadly they changed it back, but he gave a good few quacks first."

The students started filtering in and they began this week's meeting on the Locomotor charm, which they'd all insisted on learning after the October professor duel involving the pillows. The clock somehow approached curfew again and they sent the students on their way and started cleaning up from the evening.

Hermione had watched Draco help a second year perfect his wand movements during the meeting. She'd smiled as she watched him with the students. He had so much more patience than she'd ever given him credit for and watching him made her feel even more strongly about her belief in his growth. She could tell he'd taken their conversation to heart about using teaching as a way to make a positive impact in a world he'd negatively affected.

They lingered as they ran out of cleaning and organizing to do around the DADA classroom and they found themselves just standing at the front of the classroom talking. She'd been touchy that evening, slapping his arm playfully when he got cocky, placing a hand on his wrist when she wanted to make a point of something. It could be construed as just being friendly to onlookers, but it was putting all sorts of other thoughts in his head that he didn't want to dismiss. It probably didn't help that he'd taken to throwing an arm over her shoulder whenever it flowed with their banter. When the conversation finally found a lull, they left the DADA room together.

"Do you remember Dueling Club in our second year?" Hermione quipped as they walked down the hallway.

"How could I forget, Potter scared the whole bloody school by talking to snakes," he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Well it was a dirty move of you to send snakes at him to begin with."

"I do like to play dirty sometimes," he grinned.

Hermione shook her head with a laugh, "Stop it," she flicked her eyes up at him, gosh did he know how to make her blush, "I need to grab something from my classroom, want to stop with me quick?"

"Of course," he said as he followed her down the Transfiguration hallway, continuing their recollections from the original Dueling Club.

They walked in and Hermione pulled the door shut reflexively behind them, clearing her throat a bit awkwardly before walking up to her desk and grabbing a few papers off of it, placing them into her bag. She could have just stopped by herself, but he'd already been walking with her. It wasn't until now that she realized just how alone they were. In the DADA classroom it felt like work since they co-lead the club there. But in her empty classroom she felt like they were very much alone on their own time.

Draco leaned against the wall and Hermione placed her bag on one of the desks, zipping it shut.

"Doing some late night grading?" He asked coyly.

"Something to do when I can't sleep at night," she replied, propping herself against the desk across from him, maybe a foot or two apart.

"You could always come down to the dungeons and we could do some late night grading together," he shrugged, throwing caution to the wind as she was clearly buying time now, "I'm not one for a full night's sleep either. Too much on the mind," his gaze moved down her body.

She gave him an embarrassed smile, "Well as fun as that sounds, Malfoy, I don't think that would be entirely appropriate."

Their eyes met and she swallowed hard, looking away again, pretending to be interested in one of the paintings on the wall as silence hung over them for a moment. She was about to call it a night when he spoke again.

"So when are we going to acknowledge this, Granger?" He asked in a low voice, arms crossed as he looked at her with amusement.

"Acknowledge what?" She asked, shifting a little against the desk, heart rate speeding up on its own at the implication.

His lip curled up into that signature smirk as he reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her close, "This thing between us."

Her other hand landed on his chest, which she quickly balled into a fist, trying to make it less intimate as she inhaled sharply. Alternatively, his other hand traced its fingers slowly down her arm and her eyes closed as she took a deep breath, trying to remember to think straight, deliberately not looking up yet. If she just didn't meet his eye, maybe she wouldn't have to pull away yet.

He tilted her head up so that when her eyes finally opened again, they locked directly with his. He moved a hand to her waist and watched an array of emotions play out in her eyes. She bit her lip and his smirk deepened ever so slightly.

"Can we just not acknowledge it?" She asked quietly, not moving an inch towards, or away from him.

"It's gone on far too long to keep pretending we don't feel it," he said, "I don't think it's fair to keep letting it go on like this."

"Malfoy, I've been with Ron for five years," it was really the best she could say about her relationship at the moment; stating the fact that a lot of time and effort had been put into it.

"And maybe you loved him for a long time," he said, "But I don't think you do anymore. Not romantically anyway. I think your heart is straying somewhere else."

There was a confidence in his words that was palpable. He knew how she'd been starting to feel. It was like he could read her like an open book.

"Him and I... we've always had this future together." She knew she'd been thinking about the possibility that it wasn't going to work out, but she hadn't made the decision yet and if she said that out loud right now, it would make it too easy to give in. She was still _with_ Ron. She couldn't do something she'd regret. But she couldn't pull away either; she wanted his closeness as much as she feared it.

"Maybe you're trying to force it because it's all you ever knew," he fiddled with the ring on her finger, looking at it curiously, "But as I've said before, maybe there's something better out there for both of you. You can't tell me you're happy. You complain about him all the time. The two of you fight about everything."

"I care for Ron," it was just another generic statement as she pulled her hand back from him, straightening the ring on her finger with a pang of guilt towards her current predicament.

"You care for a lot of people," he countered, "I think you care for him in the same way you care for Potter. I don't think he makes you feel what I do and I don't think he ever will."

She opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out. He moved his face closer so his lips were hovering in front of hers. Again, she didn't move, too conflicted with what her body wanted as her eyes fluttered closed, "Tell me he makes you feel what you feel right now. Like you'd do anything for me to move another inch forward."

Maybe it was a bit more cockiness than confidence. Nevertheless, she felt her breath catch, her heart beating furiously in her chest, "Malfoy..." was all she could get out. She'd been thinking about a moment like this for months now whether she wanted to acknowledge that or not.

"Do you want me to let you go right now?" He asked quietly and she gave an almost unnoticeable shake of her head. She hadn't meant to shake her head, but she wasn't ready for the moment to be over. Her reaction only gave him more clarity of how he knew she felt, "I don't want to ignore this anymore, Granger," it was barely a whisper and his breath was warm on her lips.

"Please..." was all she could think to say, though she didn't specify what is was she wanted as her brain screamed two very opposing arguments at her.

He pulled back slightly and their eyes met again. She looked confused and a little sad, but there was a burning in her eyes that made him want to crash his lips onto hers. A burning that told him she wished he would. But he couldn't. Not until she begged him to.

"Please what?" He asked as her eyes searched his as fervently as his had searched hers.

"I... I don't know," she said exasperatedly, trying to shut off the thoughts in her head, "I can't really think straight right now."

"That's passion, Granger," he moved his hand back into her hair, balling it up loosely into a fist as her head automatically leaned into his touch. He moved his lips close to her ear, "You can't think straight because your heart rate is speeding up to match mine, your mind is blanking because you're thinking about everything you'd like me to do right now, in this moment. I feel it too and I know exactly what I'd like to be doing," she felt like she could melt right there in front of him as he spoke and then he moved back to look at her again, "Everything else in the world is dissolving and it's just you and me. Right here. That's why you can't think straight."

"We can't," the words were quiet, barely audible even as she tried her hardest to focus on what was right, "I can't, Malfoy."

"Your eyes betray you," he said, moving his hands out of her hair and to her neck, brushing his thumbs down the sides of her face as he felt her shiver under his touch. He leaned his forehead against hers, letting out a long breath through his nose and resting both hands on her shoulders. One of her hands came up, hesitantly, to rest on his.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and he heard in her voice just how sorry she was.

"Tell me you don't feel it, then," he said, "Tell me that and I'll never bring it up again."

"Of course I do," she breathed, "I've never been so indecisive on anything in my entire life. But I'm engaged to Ron and I need to make the decision of what's right for me first. If this is going to happen it has to happen the right way. I can't just throw away an engagement for a moment of passion. I won't."

"I don't want it to just be a moment," he said, trying to disguise his frustration, "It's more than that, Granger. You are..." he pulled his head back, trying to find the right words, "You are so much more than a momentary fleeting feeling. It's not even fucking fair. I didn't _want_ to feel this way about you, I just _do_. And you do too."

"I have to go," she said sadly, still not moving, still not able to pull herself away, his hands on her felt warm and enticing.

"Then I won't be the one keeping you here," he said, pulling his hands away from her coldly and slipping them into his pockets, finally moving his gaze to stare at the wall to his right.

"Malfoy—" she started.

"Just go," he said a bit harsher than he meant, "I'm sorry." What had he expected, that she'd kiss him right there and then break up with Ron that evening?

She stood there, teetering on her feet for another moment, still just inches apart before she took a deliberate step backwards, "I wasn't ready to acknowledge this yet. You and I… this was just never supposed to happen. I need some time to think."

He nodded, biting his tongue and letting her grab her bag and walk away. She looked back at the door of the classroom, he hadn't moved, and she left the room.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	11. Tired

**Chapter 11:** Tired

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Draco was decidedly 'under the weather' for the staff meeting on Thursday, and feeling 'sick' Sunday for their preparation meeting; a sickness that apparently did not go away by Monday or Tuesday, when he wasn't able to make it to the Head of House meeting or the Dueling Club.

Hermione had also told Ron she just wasn't feeling great and needed a few days to rest and he'd shrugged it off and left her alone. He hadn't done anything that annoyed her in the last few days, making her feel even worse about her heated conversation with Malfoy in her classroom. She needed to make a decision but it was hard to make when her judgment felt so clouded with thoughts of Malfoy in the back of her mind. She'd hoped a week of him staying away would help her focus on the things she needed to consider about Ron, separate from all of that, but she still felt it was hard to be objective.

She attended the staff meeting the following Thursday and saw Draco had reappeared. They avoided interacting and she left right after the meeting finished, making another comment about how she wasn't feeling well and excusing herself when Draco walked up to talk with Harry.

"She hasn't been feeling well all week," Harry commented and Draco had to stop himself from snorting, "Ron have you suggested she go see Madam Pomfrey?"

"Yeah I told her that a while ago and she said it wasn't bad enough for a healer, but I feel like it's getting to that point."

"I'm sure she'll bounce back," Draco said dryly. He'd lost the one thing that made Hogwarts feel welcoming to him again and it was his fault he lost it and his fault he'd been avoiding her for the last week. Which probably made her want to avoid him. He should have just let their charade continue on its way until she made the choice to either leave Ron or take a step back from their flirty friendship, "So Potter, you wanted to try the Hogs Head tonight?"

"Thought it'd be fun," he gave him a crooked smile, "Ron would you like to join us?"

"That's alright, I'll leave you to it," Ron said, nodding to them both as he turned to leave.

"Wonder if Hermione's been upset about something that happened between them," Harry said offhandedly as he watched Ron leave.

Draco just shook his head and raised his eyebrows.

"She didn't say anything to you did she?"

"Hasn't said a thing," he tried not to sound bitter about it.

"No matter, maybe I'll check in on her later," Harry waved it off, "Let's head out so we're not back too late."

The weekend rolled around and Hermione had successfully avoided any one-on-one confrontations with Malfoy, as well as Harry, who seemed intent on getting her alone to talk. She'd retreated to the library to read through her students essays, a safe haven if she'd ever had one, and hadn't had to deal with anything this week. She'd been out for a morning walk by the lake today after her library trip, trying to focus her energy into making her decision.

The more she thought about it, the harder it became to defend her relationship with Ron. It wasn't healthy and it didn't feel like it helped either of them sometimes to deal with their trauma. But walking away from five years was hard, no matter the ups and downs. They'd shared so many memories together and had been such a support system for each other in the beginning. How could she leave now? The answer was becoming more clear every time she asked herself that. They just weren't happy. Even when things were smooth there was still always a heaviness that hung between them, lingering from one disagreement or another, or maybe anticipating the next.

She made her way back up to Gryffindor Tower weighing everything she'd considered that afternoon. At this point, she was about 95% sure she'd made up her mind, but hadn't decided how she'd bring it up yet. Was it best to wait for the next weekend? Or perhaps after the holidays? That seemed like too long to wait.

She walked into their room, where Ron was sitting on the couch, and set her bag on a chair by the table, "Ron have you still not looked through these papers your mother sent?" She asked, picking up the sealed envelope that had been sitting there all week. She knew deep down it didn't _really_ matter, but they'd been sitting in the same place for days, and she really would have just liked them to either be read through or put away.

"Maybe if you'd just put down your grading for a few minutes to help out, I wouldn't have to do everything around here," Ron bit casually, not looking up from the paper he was reading, "I did plenty of other things today, like setting up an appointment for us to meet with a caterer like your mum requested. What have you done on our to-do-list recently?"

Hermione took a deep breath, closing her eyes and realizing that some things didn't need to be planned out, "Maybe you're right," she said quietly.

"What?" He asked, his voice losing it's edge in surprise.

"Maybe you're right," she said again, "I'm sorry I said it like that."

Ron furrowed his brows, "Is everything okay? Normally you'd argue with me til no end."

"I'm just… tired," she looked at him and she could see immediately that he understood.

"Tired," he repeated, "Of _this_?" He motioned between them.

She was quiet for a moment, sitting down on the couch next to him before responding, here was the chance to talk it out, "How do you feel about me, Ron?"

"Well, I love you," he said matter-of-factly, "You know that. I always have."

Hermione nodded slowly, sitting back, "Do you love me like you did then? Like you did five years ago?"

Ron sputtered for a moment, "I mean, love changes over time," he said offhandedly, "We've grown and built a life together. We had a lot of built-up feelings for each other five years ago, after not telling each other how we felt for so long. Can't expect that to last forever. But of course I still love you."

"Do you think..." she paused, knowing she couldn't take back the things she said, "Do you think after a while that suppressed love that gave us passion, do you think it turned back into friendship love? And that maybe we've just been trying to make it work since then?"

"Are you saying you don't love me anymore?" He asked quietly.

"Of course I do," Hermione looked over at him, "I just feel like I used to love you romantically and now... I care for you the same and I would be shattered if anything happened to you... but I don't think the romance is there anymore. And outside of that we just fight... _so_ much. It's exhausting. I just feel like neither of us is completely happy and we take it out on each other with all the nit picking and bickering."

They looked at each other and a look of sadness took over Ron's features, "Hermione, do you not want to marry me anymore?"

"I need to know what you think, what you feel," she said, "I couldn't be more open with you right now. But I need to know if you feel the same way; if we're both just trying to fit a square peg into a circle and neither of us is speaking up."

"I... I guess I haven't really thought about it," his gaze moved to his lap, "I just thought this was it for us. We love each other and we're going to make it work because when you love someone, that's what you do."

"But it's been a lot of work, hasn't it?"

He nodded, "I just never considered us breaking up."

"What does it make you feel... to consider it?"

"Sad," he said, "Like I'll be losing something incredibly important to me."

Something pulled tightly in her chest as she looked at Ron, maybe he _did_ romantically love her and was just rubbish at showing it. Maybe she was about to break his heart.

"But I don't feel crushed... if that makes sense," Ron continued, "I would be really sad to call off our wedding because I think we would have a good life together if we worked on it a bit, especially now that it's out in the open like this. But I think maybe there would be some relief at not having to wonder if we'd ever make each other completely happy, or be able to not fight all the time, or if the romance would come back," Hermione let out the breath she'd been holding, "Maybe you're right and maybe it's not supposed to be this much work. Maybe it's better for us to love and support each other from the outside, separately."

She grabbed his hand that was resting on his knee and squeezed it tightly, "I'm sorry to have caught you off guard with all of this, it's just been building up for a while."

"Do you think we could have saved it, years ago?" He asked, meeting her eye again.

"I don't know. Maybe if we'd communicated better when things bothered us, instead of fighting, maybe we could have. But I can't say for sure that it would have worked. We've always had these stubborn differences," her lip curled up a little and he gave a small laugh of agreement, "We've never figured out how to deal with our frustrations outside of getting angry with each other. It's kind of like this has just never been what we both wanted it to be and every disagreement we had amplified that deep down. It's not that we didn't care for each other, we just didn't have... passion between us to save it."

"So is this it?" He asked quietly, "Do we call off the wedding?"

"Do you feel like it's the right decision?" Hermione asked, not wanting to be the one to make the call unless she had to, knowing her feelings for Malfoy were still at the forefront of her mind. She could tell he was thinking hard, and he finally let out a long sigh.

"I'm tired, too," he put his head in his hands and Hermione leaned over to hug him.

They sat there for a while, not moving, not talking, just being there and letting their moment happen until some time later, Hermione finally stood up. Ron looked up at her as she slid the ring off of her finger. He looked at it and then back up at her before he held his hand out to accept it back.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, feeling like she should be crying but realizing it was probably very telling that neither of them were.

"I'm sorry too," Ron gave her a sad attempt at a grin, "I wish we'd at least tried to fix it a long time ago."

"I'm going to take some things and stay with Luna tonight. I'll have McGonagall set me up with another room tomorrow."

He just nodded, moving his gaze to the ring in his hand and leaning back on the couch. Hermione walked into the bedroom, grabbing a bag and hastily throwing a few items in before she walked back out into the living room and over to the door, "See you, Ron."

"Bye, Hermione."

They shared one last look before Hermione opened the door and left.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The moment the door closed behind her she felt an overwhelming sense of... relief. They never should have gotten engaged. They should have broken up years ago. This was the right thing. She felt the urge to chuckle at the revelation, though she realized that would likely be highly inappropriate. But it was so clear now. She slung her bag over her shoulder and descended from Gryffindor Tower towards the Ravenclaw common room. The professor rooms were outside of the common rooms so she had no trouble getting to Luna's. She knocked on the door and the girl answered.

"Hermione, what brings you over this way tonight?"

"Ron and I broke up," she said, the words flowing off of her tongue, "Can I stay on your couch tonight? I didn't want to bring Harry and Ginny into this."

"Of course," Luna stepped aside for her to pass, "I'll brew you a good pot of Gernumbly tea. It's brewed with gnome saliva which has got all kinds of beneficial soothing properties. Neville's here too, in the living room."

As awful as the tea sounded, she smiled warmly at Luna, thankful for being welcomed into her home at such a late hour and grateful for the company.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hermione had requested three weeks of temporary leave from her extra duties like the Dueling Club and Head of House meetings as she settled her personal life and got set up in her new room and into the groove of her life separate from Ron. It was easy, really. Her evenings were quiet and the stress in her life had all but disappeared. She was sad, of course. The kind of sad where you get used to seeing someone every day and all of a sudden they're not in your life anymore. But it was a hopeful sad where with time, she knew she'd be better off.

Her students had asked why she hadn't been at the Dueling Club meetings and she'd made up an excuse about having a temporary project that needed her attention and assured them she'd be back after the holidays and that Professor Malfoy was more than capable of keeping them busy until then.

She still hadn't reached out to Malfoy, knowing he must have heard through the grapevine. Her feelings for him were still prevalent, but it hadn't felt fair to jump from Ron to him so quickly. She'd needed a minute to pull herself together. Malfoy deserved all of her when she was ready. She knew she should have that conversation with him, but everything was still so fresh; it had been a few weeks now since they'd had a real conversation and she hadn't had the courage to seek him out.

Harry had stopped by soon after she moved out and they'd talked late into the night. He understood why they broke up and reminded her that he, and Ginny, were there to support them both, but right now, Ginny didn't feel it was her place to insert herself into her brother's breakup.

Hermione's temporary leave took her up until mid-December; the start of the holidays. She'd be staying at Hogwarts, but she knew Ron, Ginny and Harry had all returned to the Burrow that morning. She'd hardly talked to Malfoy to know his plans, but wondered if he'd be there. He'd been on her mind constantly the last few days and she knew it was just about time for her to sit down with him and address it.

She still hadn't fully unpacked her bags from moving out from Ron, even though it had been almost a month now, but she'd promised herself she'd do it over the break. She was currently sitting on her floor, going through one of the easier boxes - full of books - when she heard a knock at her open door.

"Evening, Granger," Hermione looked up to see Draco standing in the doorway, "Heard you'd moved into a new room. Figured I had some free time to stop by and see if you needed help with anything."

She gave him an apologetic look, standing up and putting her hands in her back pockets, "I think I've got everything moved in alright so far."

He looked at the full boxes stacked around the room and nodded, "Want to tell me in person why you moved into a new place? Haven't seen you in weeks to ask."

"And you wouldn't talk to me before that," Hermione countered.

"Didn't think there was anything to talk about," he paused, considering her, "But perhaps I was wrong."

"Look, Malfoy," she looked down, trying to word what she needed to say, "I need some time."

He nodded slowly, his voice quiet, "It's been half a school year, Granger. How much more time do you want me to give you to figure out how you feel about me?"

"It has nothing to do with how I _feel_," she said, "And everything to do with just needing some time. I called off my wedding."

"That neither of you even wanted to start planning," he said incredulously, "I think you've both known it was over for a long time."

"That's irrelevant," she shook her head, "We were together for five years. It doesn't matter how much I want to give in to all of these things I feel for you, I need to take a step back, for myself, and be whole again before I can... give myself to someone else."

Draco was silent, of course he understood, but how did she expect him to not want to explore this connection between them after harboring it for so long. He pushed himself off the doorway, "Then I expect you'll come to me when you're ready to. I'll be here over break. See you around."

He walked out of the doorway, "Malfoy, wait," Hermione heard herself saying but he didn't turn back and she didn't run after him.

She collapsed back onto the couch with a frustrated sigh. She was just trying to do this the right way. But he was right there, unless she continued to totally avoid him, she couldn't pretend the thoughts and feelings she had _weren't_ there.

She made it through the first week of a three week holiday break without running into Malfoy outside of meals and a part of her was sad she hadn't. If she sought him out... it'd feel like she'd gone back on her promise to move on from Ron before getting into something new. She plopped herself into the snow by the lake, which was partially frozen over now, so she could think.

She cleared her head as well as she could and looked out onto the water, finally ready to give this all of her attention and acknowledge everything that had happened and how it made her feel. She sat there for a while, two hours, maybe three? And she let all of her thoughts in to make their points until she'd deduced the main facts.

She'd barely thought about Ron since she'd moved. If anything, she just felt happy to have made the right decision. She didn't have any regret, and nothing in her gut made her second guess it. Did she still love him? That's what she didn't know. Draco had been decently correct in saying they hadn't been in love in a long time, so was there even a love to 'get over'?

Her thoughts turned to Draco. She missed him more than she should for someone she'd only spent a few months getting to know, and who had made her teen years hell. But she felt like something was missing without him in her life four days a week. She missed the way he looked at her, the way his touch felt when he tried to make contact in a 'friendly' way. She missed their banter and the stimulation she felt from his challenges. She missed their conversations, the depth of what he knew; what he felt.

In a moment of realization, it clicked and she stood up; it was time to find Malfoy. He was in the castle somewhere and they just needed to talk. She was over Ron. She'd been over him for years and she just hadn't accepted that until now. She _had_ to be over him because she'd been falling hard for Draco for three months now. And she finally had the chance to tell him.

She walked briskly back up to the castle and down the stairs to the dungeons, wandering aimlessly until she came to a hallway that looked like the Gryffindor professor hallway and she turned. There was only one door and she paused outside of it, taking a deep breath before she lifted her hand and knocked.

She heard shuffling inside before the door opened and Draco tilted his head at her, "Afternoon, Granger."

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	12. An Exploration

**Chapter** **12:** An Exploration

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Can I come in?" She asked a little breathlessly as he looked at her with interest, stepping to the side as she moved past him. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt and gods be damned if he didn't still look breathtaking. She felt severely overdressed in her bulky cloak, but it was cold out.

"Can I take your cloak? He asked as he shut the door behind her, also noticing the difference in their attire.

"Sure," she said, shrugging it off and handing it to him. He waved his wand and levitated it to the bench by the door. As he raised his arm to direct the cloak, she noticed the Dark Mark imprinted there. It gave her chills, but she knew better than to stare. That's not what she came to talk about and it would only distract from the conversation if she acknowledged it.

He turned back to her, Gryffindor pride emanating from her fitted red sweater, her hair cascading over her shoulders, "Are you ready to talk, then?"

She nodded with a deep breath, "First I wanted to apologize for not coming to talk to you sooner. I wasn't sure how best to handle everything. I don't want to be disrespectful to Ron after dating for so long, and I don't want to be disrespectful to you by not being open about everything. But at the end of the day, I've taken my time and I've done my thinking and the questions I have left can't be answered if I'm not around you."

"It wasn't an ideal situation," he said dryly.

"Well I'm here now," she said, hoping she hadn't waited to long. Hoping he hadn't given up on her.

"So what do you need answered," his voice was even as they looked at each other. He'd already put himself out there so this wasn't his conversation to lead.

She took a step forward hesitantly, only half a foot from him now, and grabbed his hand gently in hers, looking down at it and then back up at him, "I need to know if this is real. Or if it was just something that intrigued you because you couldn't have it."

"I usually liked to just pretend he didn't exist when I interacted with you," he said, enjoying the way her soft fingers moved over his hand, wanting to feel more of her, but waiting patiently for her to make the move, "I never planned to develop feelings for you, Granger, it just happened."

"I know," she gave him a crooked smile, "And I never imagined I'd find myself falling for you… but here we are."

"So what do you want?" He asked, trying to mask his pleasure in hearing her finally admit how she felt in the open, "From me; _with_ me?"

"I want to know more. I don't remember the last time I really wanted to just sit down and talk about life with someone but I want to know everything about you. And," she paused, swallowing a little hard as her heart rate started to quicken, "And I'd like to explore more of this… spark between us. I like the way you make me _feel_."

"And what way is that," he asked, his voice low and a smile playing at his lips as his eyes pulled her in. Something about her innocent nature was ironically seductive.

Of course he wanted her to say it out loud, he always did like to see her blush, "_Passionate_," she finally got out, "I haven't been able to stop thinking about that night in the Transfiguration classroom; About that moment I wanted so badly that we couldn't have yet. But I did what I needed to for me and I gave myself space to clear my head and there's nothing standing in the way from letting this moment happen now," she moved a few inches closer, resting her hand on his chest, his finding its way to the small of her back as she prepared herself to elaborate, "You make me feel like I can't think straight when you're close. You make me feel like sometimes the room gets warmer than it should when you say something a little inappropriate. And you make it difficult to breathe when you look at me like you are now. I tried so hard to ignore it then, but I don't want to anymore."

They were staring into each other's eyes and she felt every bit of what she was describing. He truly did something to her that she'd never felt before. It was a weak-at-the-knees, hard-to-keep-my-hands-off-you kind of feeling.

"And how would you like to explore that," he said slyly, his free hand pushing her hair back over her shoulder before moving to cup her face. This was everything he'd been envisioning in his head, only somehow better.

Hermione felt herself glancing down at his lips again as her heart pounded in her chest, "Figured maybe I'd start with this," she whispered after a second, trying to match his confidence as she leaned up towards him, his grin the last thing she saw before she let her eyes close and he leaned down, their lips meeting softly, like a test; More specifically, like a hyper-electrified test that made her senses explode.

They both pulled back a millimeter to share a look; make sure their feelings were being reciprocated. Draco's eyes were clouded over, hungry even and Hermione looked back at him, her breath caught in her throat at the look, moving her hand up into his hair and pulling his face back to hers again, kissing him deeper this time; with all the passion that had been flowing between them for months. With all of the passion that had been sitting dormant inside her for the last five years waiting for him to awaken it.

His hand moved to the back of her neck and his tongue met hers in the middle. She elicited the slightest moan that she'd tried so hard to keep in and she heard him respond similarly, fueled by her reaction. She acknowledged this feeling as desire; maybe lust, even. She wanted to be touched like she wasn't something fragile or familiar, which is how she'd always felt with Ron. Like he could read her thoughts, he reached around to find the back of her legs and picked her up as she wrapped them around his waist. He moved forward a couple of steps until her back found the wall and she inhaled sharply, finding it hard, but cool and welcoming. She leaned back in, capturing his lips and she tried to remember if she'd ever thought kissing was this enticing before, because right now, there was no where in the world she'd rather be than up against a wall snogging Draco Malfoy.

After a minute she pulled her head back, turning to the side to catch her breath as he kissed across her cheek and down her neck, one hand holding her securely against him and the other fumbling at the bottom of her shirt, needing to feel the skin underneath as badly as the skin underneath begged to be touched. His cold hands moved their way up her shirt, exploring the curves of her body as they moved around to her back to stroke down her spine. Her whole body erupted in goosebumps and her head fell back against the wall.

"_Malfoy_..." she whispered.

He moved his lips to her ear, "_Draco_, Granger. Draco is what I want to hear in this scenario."

She didn't hesitate, "_Draco_," it flowed off her tongue like it'd been there all along as he bit her earlobe gently before returning to a particularly sensitive area of her neck.

She loved the feeling of being completely swept away in the moment, not thinking about Ron or their professor duties or what was right and what was wrong, just being _there_, with _Draco_.

His lips found hers again as they parted on cue, his tongue moving slowly against hers in a way that made her want more. Another part of her brain was registering something nudging into the side of her leg and she kissed him back more intensely than she had before. He wanted her and she could feel herself losing any interest in self control. This had been building up for far too long.

"_Fuck_," he breathed, pulling back for a second and looking at her again, her eyes were fierce and her face flushed. His lip curled up into a smirk he couldn't help and he held her closer to him as he moved away from the wall, swiftly making his way to the couch where he set her down and climbed on top of her, kissing her again as her hands found the bottom of his shirt and pulled it upwards. He leaned back long enough for her to slip it over his head before closing the gap between them again.

Her hands slid down his chest and she could tell he was feeling as heated as she was. She couldn't help but think that this is what it was supposed to feel like. This was passion in its rawest and most pure form. Her hands moved without thinking to the button on his jeans, loosening them before snaking her arms around his neck. His skin was warm and smooth and she felt the urge to touch every inch of it.

He lifted her shirt and threw it aside, kissing down her chest now. Her skin burned as he moved across it and her hands found their way into his hair again as she took in every sensation.

Draco pulled himself back up over her, looking down at the woman underneath him. There was an pureness about her that threw him for a fucking loop, but here she was undoing his pants and running her hands through his hair. If he didn't know any better he'd think she wanted him to take her right there. And maybe she did.

Her honey brown eyes locked with his again and he let out some noise from his throat before leaning back in for more. He felt her push at the top of his pants and he grinned, squeezing his hand on her waist before standing up to push them off while she wriggled out of hers on the couch.

"Come here," he said, his voice no more than a whisper, and he held out his hand. She took it and stood, looking at him questioningly.

He kissed her again, their underwear-clad bodies pressed against each other. He started walking backwards a few steps, stealing kisses with each one, before he turned with a look that could melt the arctic, and lead her to his bedroom.

She climbed onto the bed, sitting on her knees near the edge, as he closed the door and walked to stand in front of her. Her heart was beating so loudly in anticipation that he must hear it. He ran both hands down her arms much too softly and she looked at him with her lips slightly parted, like she was begging him to give her more. He leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on her lips, his hand finding its way into her hair and she tilted her head to the side, feeling pleasantly short of breath.

She traced her fingers across the line of his boxers and he gave a dark laugh, balling her hair in his fist. He wanted very much to give her what she so clearly wanted, but the thought popped into his head that she'd already told him she needed time and he didn't want to forget that. This was not going to be a rebound from her relationship. He could tell already that this was going to be much more than that and he had to play his cards correctly. He let her hair go and used every bit of self control he had to step to the side, climbing further back on the bed, and pulled her down with him so they were stretched out next to each other. He kissed her softer, sighing, and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

She could tell he was slowing things down and her body screamed at him for more, though she didn't make it obvious. It certainly hadn't been her plan to come down to the dungeons and shag him right then and there, he just made her feel something inside she'd never felt before, and the feeling was addicting. And they were adults, so if that's how it went, it's not like she would have regretted it. It had been so long since she'd been properly _satisfied_ that she wasn't surprised how easy it had felt to want to give in. Especially with Draco. She kissed him again softly before she lay her head back on the pillow, resting her hand on his waist and taking a deep breath to finally slow her heart rate, "Too fast?"

"For what I want from you, unfortunately yes," he grinned back, combing his fingers through her hair and resting his hand on her neck, pausing a moment to fully take her in as he saw the blush creep up her cheeks at his gaze, "You are beautiful, Granger."

"And what is it you want from me?" She asked conversationally, her eyes soft and her brain still processing that he thought she was beautiful. What universe were they living in?

"More," he said simply, "More than just your body. I want your time and I want to give you my effort. And then when you feel I've adequately earned it, I will finish what we started here and you'll never look back."

"Your confidence is overwhelming sometimes, you know that?"

"With good reason, Granger."

She gave him a small smile, "Alright _Draco_, we'll take things slow."

"I certainly do like hearing that name coming from your lips," he said in a low voice as he pulled her closer, "And we don't have to keep things that slow," he shrugged, kissing her again a few times as she laughed, "For example, you won't be putting your clothes back on again any time soon if I have anything to say about it."

She grinned back at him as she pressed her body to his in agreement, kissing him soundly as his hands began to roam again. She wanted to remember every thought in her head in that moment: how her body molded against his like they'd been made for each other, how his lips felt like they were smiling as they kissed, and how she had an overwhelming sense of feeling truly happy, invigorated, and alive.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N:** Hope everyone is having a great holiday season! I tried to get this chapter up for you last night but I've been having issues with uploading to the site for some reason. Fingers crossed it doesn't happen again! I hope you all enjoyed that chapter! I know it's been a long time coming so thanks for being so patient as it moved along ;) The romance is rolling now, so get excited!


	13. Inscriptions

**Chapter 13: **Inscriptions

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hermione opened her eyes the next morning, blinking a few times as she looked around the unfamiliar room. She'd barely paid attention to it the day before as they lay in bed kissing and touching each other in between conversations about all the moments they'd had the last few months where they'd wanted this and how oddly difficult it had been to stay away from each other for a month. The room was dark albeit the light streaming in from the other room; the door halfway open.

She noticed that Draco wasn't next to her and she grabbed her wand off the nightstand sleepily, "_Lumos Recta_," she pointed it at the lantern in the corner, repeating the spell for the rest of the lanterns around the room as they all illuminated. She rolled onto her back, looking around and noticing there was a certain lack of personality in the decor. She'd had pictures of her friends all over her walls, Gryffindor paraphernalia adorning the shelves and trinkets from her travels displayed. Draco's room was all green, there were two pictures on his desk that she'd have to take a better look at later, a Slytherin scarf draped over the back of the bed and a bookshelf full of a variety of books, but there were no other personal items lying around. In general the bedroom felt almost sterile, and a bit dark.

She sat up, it was a little too quiet and she furrowed her brow, throwing the blanket off and looking around for her clothes before remembering that they were discarded in the living room the afternoon prior. She internally chided herself for not grabbing them when they'd finally left the bedroom to steal a bite from his kitchen before they'd crawled back in bed, uninterested in being anywhere but entwined in the sheets.

She hopped off the bed, taking a detour to look at the pictures on his desk - one of him and his mother and one of him, Blaise and Pansy. His arm was around Pansy's shoulder and the girl was holding his hand, Blaise on the other side of him, leaning his elbow on Draco's shoulder. Both Pansy and Blaise were moving between smiling at the camera and laughing over at Draco at something he said. It made her curious if there was something between Draco and Pansy. She turned from the photographs, walking to the door and peeking out, Draco still nowhere in sight. She felt the slightest bit of anxiety that he wasn't there, wondering if he regretted it this morning. Maybe he'd wanted her to take the extra time before she came to him. Maybe their connection hadn't lived up to his expectations in reality. Maybe taking things slow didn't sound worth it to him.

She spotted her shirt, grabbing it from the ground as the door opened and she jumped, covering herself with it.

"Morning, Granger," Draco drawled, "Not sneaking off now, are you?"

He walked in the door with a tray of breakfast food and she felt her body relax as she let out a small laugh, "Well I'm certainly not going anywhere now."

"I thought I'd be back before you got up," he said as he set the tray down on the coffee table.

"Have you been up long?" She threw her sweater over her head and sat down on the couch.

"I'm an early morning person," he shrugged, looking over at her in her underwear and a sweater, "Let me get you something clean."

She looked down at herself as he walked into the other room, "This is fine, don't worry about it."

He came back with a t-shirt and threw it over to her with a smile, "You'll be more comfortable."

She slipped her sweater back off and threw the t-shirt on, inwardly agreeing that it was much more comfortable as she brought her legs underneath her and leaned against the arm, "We didn't go to bed until late, how did you still wake up so early? It's not even seven yet," she yawned.

"Sleep is more of an illusion sometimes," he said, pouring a cup of coffee and handing it to her.

She accepted it gratefully and cupped it in her hands, "You don't sleep much?"

"Not in a long time," he gave her a crooked smile and poured himself a cup of coffee, grabbing a croissant and sitting next to her on the couch.

"Seems like none of us really do. Though I will say I slept better last night than I have in a long time. But I keep hoping one day it'll get easier on a normal basis."

"I as well," he took a bite of his croissant, noticing her eyes glance at his arm as he did so, and he nodded slowly, "Surprised you didn't comment on it yesterday."

She looked at him apologetically, "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare, it just caught me off guard again."

"Catches my attention a lot too," he said, his eyes doing their best to shut off the emotion behind them as he focused on his croissant, "I've tried everything to remove it, nothing's worked."

"We all have our scars," she said quietly.

He looked over at her arm where the word mudblood was inscripted and then back up at her, "I wish I could take yours away."

"Just a reminder of everything I've overcome," she took a sip of her coffee, "If you try to look at it that way, it helps."

"I wouldn't say 'overcome' is the right word for me. It's more a reminder of the mistakes I made."

She reached her hand over and rested it on his arm, the one with the Dark Mark, "You've overcome the things that were expected of you when you were a part of them, and you've overcome the path you were on at that time in your life."

"Your positivity is a breath of fresh air."

"I know there must be a lot going on behind the scenes in your mind," she said softly, "It's not something you need to deal with alone."

He considered her for a moment, "It feels difficult to explain to you because your problems are because of the side I was on. Dumbledore. Weasley's brother. Potter's godfather. Professor Lupin. I could go on, but they all died because of the Death Eaters. And I was one of them. It feels unfair of me to take your pity knowing that."

"It's not pity," she said seriously, "It's empathy. It's seeing that you've changed and that you're not the person that sided with Voldemort and wanting to understand your pain to talk through it. It's wanting to find the right thing to say that'll make it click that you're allowed to move forward. I want you to put that life in the past and move forward… with _me_."

"It'll always be a part of me, Granger."

"And I'll always see you for who you are and not for your past."

Her resilience on the matter was something he couldn't argue with. She was much too fierce about it. A fierceness that reminded him what he valued so much about this girl. She was strong and opinionated, kind and supportive. She saw him as someone he couldn't see himself. He knew he'd changed and he knew the person he had been was just a part of his past, but it felt impossible to accept that he was allowed to move on from those mistakes that still affected so many people.

"You are the minority," he said with a sigh, "And I appreciate it more than you could know." He covered her hand with his and set his coffee on the table before reaching over and grabbing her almost empty cup and placing it next to his.

"I wasn't done with—."

He climbed over her legs and hovered in front of her face with a grin.

"But I can finish it later," she said quietly as he leaned in to capture her lips. It was soft as her bottom lip caught between his and they lingered there a moment, her hands raising to rest on either side of his face before sliding down his neck and to his chest.

He kissed her a few more times before he pulled back, "I could certainly get used to this."

She smiled back at him, "It already feels comfortable in a way. Being here with you like this."

"I know," his eyes gleamed back at her, "That's probably because you've been fantasizing about it for so long."

She rolled her eyes at him, "I was not fantasizing about you, _Draco Malfoy._"

"I doubt that," he winked, pushing himself off the couch and holding his hand out to her, "How about we go for a nice walk by the lake before any of the students wake up?"

"Do I have to put on pants?" She asked in a fakely disappointed voice as she took it to stand.

"I like you better without them, but it's a bit warmer in here than it will be outside. And I think there's a Hogwarts school rule that professors must be wearing pants at all times outside of their rooms," he pulled her in for another kiss before letting her go and grabbing his wand from the table. He flicked it at the window where the curtains flew open and sun shined into the room as he walked towards the bedroom.

"How — Aren't we in the dungeons" she sputtered.

"It's charmed, Granger. Haven't you ever read Hogwarts, A History?"

She opened her mouth in shock and then shut it, she'd never heard those words uttered by anyone but herself before, "Of course I have," she finally laughed, "I just forgot that little note about the dungeons. It's a nice touch."

He turned as he reached the bedroom door, "I usually keep it pretty grey outside my window, but I was feeling like a sunny day," he said brightly before continuing on his route to change and she smiled, leaning forward to grab a croissant for herself with some butter.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The next two weeks were bliss as Draco and Hermione spent them wandering the grounds hand-in-hand in the early hours of the mornings before anyone else would be awake, chaperoning student activities for those staying at the school over break, grabbing dinner in Hogsmeade, or bringing it back from the kitchens to Draco's room before spending the evening wrapped in the covers. They'd spent Christmas Day together, exchanging books for the other to read; a compromise they'd agreed on with the holidays falling so close to their newly founded… relationship? They still hadn't talked about what to call it yet.

As the last evening of the holiday break loomed, they enjoyed dinner in the Great Hall with the students and Ernie McMillan, the only other professor who had stayed for the break, before returning to the dungeons. The air felt tense as they knew the return of the students also meant the return of Ron, Harry and the others. They still hadn't talked about what that meant or how they would traverse it, though it was a conversation that also loomed.

They cast their robes aside and Draco sat down at the end of the couch, Hermione climbing onto his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck as he moved a hand slowly up and down her thigh.

"So are you looking forward to resuming classes again?" He asked her with a halfhearted smile.

"I am," she sighed, "But I know it complicates things once everyone is back."

He nodded, "Have you thought about how you want to handle that part?"

"Of course I've thought about it, I just don't know what the right answer is."

"You want to hide it from everyone?" He was keeping his voice casual but she was sure he wouldn't feel great if she said yes.

"There's just a lot to consider," she shook her head, "Of course I don't want to hide how I feel about you, but it holds some repercussions."

"Weasley?"

"That's part of it," she said slowly, "Obviously I don't want him to wonder if there was anything going on between us before we broke up."

"There wasn't, really," he shrugged.

"I don't know that I could say that with a clear conscience," she looked at him unsurely, "I know we didn't kiss or anything before I broke up with Ron, but I certainly can't say I didn't have feelings for you."

"But you didn't cheat on him," Draco reiterated, "I even gave you a wonderful opportunity to and you didn't. At the end of the day, nothing happened between us until a month after you two broke up."

"I know, I just don't want him to be uncomfortable."

"Don't you think I might be a little uncomfortable hiding that we're together?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

She looked at him for a moment, "I don't want to hide it forever," she started as he leaned his head back on the couch, "Hear me out," she said seriously, "I don't want to hide it, but it's not just Ron, it's also the students. I don't want to be the professor that went from dating one staff member to another. I don't want to hide our… you know… this, but I just want to give it a little more time for everything to smooth over and to put some distance between Ron and I in the eyes of everyone else around. You are important to me and I don't want anyone to look at our… this… like it's not as significant as I feel it is."

He pulled his head back up to look at her, "You seem nervous to call it a relationship."

"Well it's not like you've asked me to be your girlfriend or something so I guess I just don't know what to call it," she gave an uncomfortable laugh.

He nodded slowly, "Alright, will you be my girlfriend, Granger?"

"I — what? Really?"

"Really."

"Of course I will," she smiled, leaning down and kissing him soundly, arms tightening around his neck before she loosened them again and pulled back.

"Wonderful, now you can call it a relationship and I can tell my mother I've found myself a girlfriend. She'll be ecstatic."

"Until you tell her who it is."

"She's not as bad as my father," he gave a dark laugh, "Lucius wasn't a good person, but in the end he walked away and I appreciate him for that. Our family was always incredibly important to him. But he made more mistakes than most and he's doing his time for it. My mother, though," he sighed, "She's a good woman who got mixed up with the wrong people. I'll save the reveal of who my girlfriend is until she can meet you in person."

Hermione listened on in interest as he talked about his father, he hadn't said much about his parents since they'd reconnected, besides hinting at his closeness to his mother, "Alright, I'll hold out hopes that she'll accept me."

"As for your reasoning to keep our relationship quiet for a while, I do understand that we're professors and we have an image to keep up around the students and for _that_ reason, I'll respect your request to hide _this_ for an amount of time to be determined by how restless I get not being able to steal a kiss in the hallway or hold your hand wandering the grounds."

"I'll take what I can get for now," she rolled her eyes playfully, "Thank you. It's just that when we do tell people we're together, I don't want it to be a scandal."

"I understand, Granger," his hand moved to her neck, tracing her collarbone before pulling her face gently towards his for a kiss, "But don't think I'm not going to take what opportunities I'm given to enjoy a scandalous hidden relationship."

"Draco," she said in a warning voice, "Don't you do anything that puts me in a compromising situation."

"I make no promises, Granger. The game is on."

She shook her head with a laugh, "You are incorrigible."

"For some reason I think it's why you like me."

She gave him another lingering kiss before pushing off of him to move from the couch, "Come make hot chocolate with me?"

"Only if you take your clothes off first," he grinned.

She returned the look, pulling her shirt over her head and throwing it on the chair and pushing her jeans off of her to join her shirt. She turned from him, glancing back with a sultry look, "Are you joining me, or no?"

He gave a laugh that had a hint of shock in it. Hermione Granger pulled off sexy as well as she pulled off smart. And he was all for the challenge. He stood up, throwing off his clothes to join hers on the chair and waltzed into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing her shoulder, "You make me want to do very bad things to you," he whispered.

"That doesn't sound so bad at all," she responded airily, putting the kettle on the stove before she turned around and looked up at him, "It actually sounds quite nice," her fingers grazed lightly down his arm and he pulled her to him tightly, kissing her deeply with a soft nibble on her bottom lip.

"You are playing with fire, Granger."

She smiled at him, leaning up for a quick kiss as his grip on her lightened and she turned to grab the chocolate from the cupboard.


	14. In Hiding

**Chapter 14:** In Hiding

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

It was mid-day on Sunday before the beginning of term started back up and Hermione had finally collected the few things that had found their way around Draco's room into a bag to bring back to her neglected side of the castle.

"You can leave a few things over here," he said, eyeing her bag.

"Just going to switch them out," she laughed, "Can't be wearing the same outfit under my robes every day."

She picked up her red sweater to throw into her bag before she turned to him. He grabbed her hand gently, pulling her to him, "I'll see you at dinner," he kissed her, moving his hand through her hair as she sighed into him.

"Yes and I'll sneak down after," she smiled up at him, hoping with everything in her that the return of the students and professors wouldn't change anything between them.

"Good, I'll be here in my boxers waiting for you," he whispered in her ear, letting her go.

"You tempt me so," she grabbed her wand from the coffee table and walked to the door, "See you, Draco."

She looked out into the empty hall before she stepped out, closing the door behind her and walking briskly to the main hallway of the dungeons before she tried to return to a normal pace, as though it were normal for her to be wandering in the dungeons on a Sunday afternoon. As she ascended the stairs to Gryffindor tower, she saw the group of sixth year boys leaning on the wall outside the portrait hole.

"Welcome back," she said brightly to them.

"Afternoon Professor Granger!" Gabriel waved.

"Are you coming back to the Dueling Club on Tuesday?" Asked Zachary.

"Yes, I'll be back for the remainder of the school year," she told them, "Needed to give you all some suspense for the monthly professor duels."

"Looking forward to it!" Marcus called after her.

Hermione turned down the professor hallway, noticing Harry and Ginny's door was open, meaning they were all likely back from the Burrow.

She tapped on her door with her password as it clicked and she pushed it open, setting her bag inside the doorway before walking to the kitchen for a glass of water, purposefully ignoring the still-packed boxes in the corners of the living room.

"Hermione!" Harry's voice called from the doorway, "Are you here?"

She walked around the corner of the kitchen with a smile, "Hi Harry, how were your holidays?"

"We missed you," he gave her a crooked smile as he walked in and hugged her, "But we had a nice break. What have you been up to?"

"Not much at all," she said nonchalantly, "Did a lot of thinking in the beginning and am in a great place. Just enjoyed a few quiet weeks to realign, really."

"I see your got your unpacking done," he grinned at her.

"I know. I swear I'm going to do it eventually."

Harry noticed the bag of clothes sitting by the door, "Are you going somewhere?"

"Oh… um, no, I — uh, just some more stuff to unpack."

He looked at her curiously, "Where'd you just come back from?"

"I was just out for a bit, wandered the grounds, went to the library, normal stuff."

Harry looked around for her work bag but didn't see it and gave her a knowing look that something was up, "Alright, well I'll let you get back to your day."

Hermione sat down on the couch with a groan, lying was a nightmare, "Can you close the door, Harry?"

He nodded slowly, "Mmhmm," closing it and walking over to sit down next to her on the couch and waiting until she was ready to explain.

"You see…" she started, but it was harder than she realized to put into words, "It's just that…," she sighed, "I took the time to do some thinking and came to the realization that I've been over my relationship with Ron for a long time. Years maybe. But it was hard to walk away and when I finally did… there just hasn't been a lot to get over."

"Not sure I'm understanding what this has to do with your bag of clothes by the door," Harry tilted his head at her.

"Over the last few weeks that you've all been gone, over the last couple months really since Ron and I came to an end… there's been… something between… Draco and myself."

Harry stared at her, his mouth opening slightly in shock as he started to see where this conversation was going, "How long," he finally said.

"Only two weeks really," she said quietly, "We finally talked two weeks ago. We hadn't talked in a month before that."

"Why not," he prompted her.

"Because we both felt something towards each other," the words held a lot of guilt, "Something that's been there since we reconnected that we were trying to pretend wasn't there. We put space between us so that I could decide what I needed to do. So that I could talk to Ron and acknowledge that my heart wasn't in it. So that I could clear my head of both of them and figure out what it all meant."

"Hermione… did you…" he didn't want to even ask the question because part of him didn't want to know, but he felt like something was being left out.

"I never cheated on Ron," she said definitively, "Draco finally told me out loud that he had feelings for me a couple of months ago and we stopped spending time together after that until I had time to decide on and resolve everything else in my life."

"_Draco__,_ that'll be something to get used to," he gave an ironic laugh, realizing she was calling him by his first name now, "And did you leave Ron because of Malfoy?"

"I left Ron because we haven't been in love in a long time and the fighting was unbearable. Neither of us were ever going to be happy. And my feelings for Malfoy were a pretty clear sign that my heart wasn't with Ron."

He nodded, "And you and Malfoy… you're together now?"

"Quietly, yes," she took a deep breath, "We weren't going to tell anyone for a while, until everything else smoothed out, but I can't lie to you, Harry."

"And what about Ginny and Ron?"

"I can't tell them yet," she shook her head, her chest tightening, "Please just keep this between you and me."

Harry was silent for a moment, "You know I wondered once or twice if there was more than met the eye," he said, "But I shrugged it off because I knew you'd never do anything to hurt Ron."

"And I didn't," she reiterated, "Draco and I didn't even speak again until a month after Ron and I broke up."

"I know," he said, "It's just a lot to take in. The thing is, if this isn't something serious, Hermione, it's really going to hurt Ron."

"I think it is serious," she said slowly, "It's early, I know, but I think it's headed in that direction. It feels very real."

He nodded, "Does he make you happy?"

"Incredibly," she gave a half smile, "Happier than I've been in so long. And I don't mean that against Ron, it's just been so long, Harry, since being with someone has felt easy and right."

"Okay," he said, his lip pulling up as he looked at his friend, "I can tell this is important to you and I'm really glad that he makes you happy because you deserve it. You know you'll always have my support. But I understnad why you want to keep it quiet until there's a little space from Ron. He'd freak if he knew."

"I know. Trust me I don't feel good about that, but I tried to ignore my feelings for Draco and I couldn't. There's so much more to him that I ever gave him credit for and the more I get to know him, the more I understand and want to know."

"He's changed," Harry agreed, "I don't deny that in the slightest. We've had some good talks the last couple of months."

"It's meant a lot to him that you've been reaching out," she told him. It was something Draco had said to her when they were talking about Harry one day, "He didn't think any of us would give him the time of day when he started here."

"Times do change, don't they," Harry moved closer to her and threw his arm around her shoulder, shaking her lightly with a small laugh.

"More than I ever thought possible," she agreed, leaning her head on his shoulder and letting out a long breath. Harry was one of the few who would be able to accept their relationship.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

It was Tuesday evening after dinner as Hermione sat in the library finishing up some of her grading before her return to the Dueling Club. She dipped her quill into the ink pot and crossed out a sentence in her student's essay, writing a quick note in the margins to correct it.

Ron had approached her for the first time one-on-one that afternoon, and they had talked cordially for a few minutes before he made up an excuse to end their conversation. It had been a nice step to hopefully return to a friendship one day, but it made her feel guilty again for not being upfront about her relationship with Draco. It wouldn't be as easy as just getting over the awkwardness and figuring out how to support each other again as friends, there would be a lot more that went into whether or not they could ever even have that. And if he was her friend again, how would Draco feel about that? She knew she could be friends with whomever she wanted, she'd made that point to Ron, but she was sure it would be a point of contention at first if she ever was good friends with Ron again. But as of right now, she didn't want him out of her life forever, maybe at a distance for a while, but he'd surely move on as well. And then maybe him and Draco would find a way to coexist. Or maybe not, that was also a possibility.

She shook her head, rereading the same sentence again before she refocused on the task at hand, reading and correcting as the evening progressed.

"Fancy finding you in the library," came Draco's voice.

She looked up with a cheeky smile, "Good evening, Professor Malfoy," she finished her comment and set her quill aside, "And what brings you down here?"

"I just thought perhaps my girlfriend would like an escort to our Dueling Club meeting tonight."

"_Draco__,_" she whispered, "We're supposed to be keeping this quiet."

He laughed, "There's literally no one else in the library, Granger. It's the second day of classes after the holiday break."

She looked around, he was quite right, they were very alone and she relaxed, "All the same, someone could walk in at any time," she scolded him halfheartedly, the twinkle in her eye giving away her pleasure in seeing him there, "Come walk with me to put this away and we can head up." She grabbed the book she'd been referencing from the table and started walking to put it away, Draco following her.

"How were your lessons today?" He asked as they traversed the tables in the library.

"I can tell everyone is very uninterested in returning to homework and classes," she sighed, "Lots of talk of holiday breaks and Christmas gifts."

"Kids will be kids," he grinned, "Although I'm sure as a student you were always very excited to get back to learning."

"Always," she smiled, pushing open the door to the restricted section and moving inside.

"I kind of was too, if I'm being honest," he said, "Did you know I was number two in the class, behind you?"

"Of course I did," she looked at him incredulously, "I was always aware of where everyone stood in the top ten. Not that that's something I should be proud of."

She slipped the book back onto the shelf and turned to see Draco leaning on the table in the middle of the room. She looked over at the door, which was firmly closed and she walked up to him, placing her hands on his chest and leaning into him, "Since no one's here, this seems like a good opportunity to steal a kiss."

He grinned down at her, "Finding it hard to keep your hands off me already?"

"I could… I just don't want to right now," she said, tilting her head up, his arms closing around her as their lips met.

"Has this been a fantasy of yours for a long time?" He whispered against her lips as they hovered near his.

"What other fantasy would a bookworm have?!" She whispered back, kissing him again.

The room felt very warm and she knew it was because this was wrong, but it was kind of exhilarating.

The click of heels could be heard walking towards the restricted section and Hermione jumped back, turning back towards the bookshelf to appear as if she was looking for something as Madam Pince pushed the door open.

"Oh, Professor Granger… and Professor Malfoy," she said, looking between them, "I thought I'd heard someone come back here, didn't realize it was just a couple of professors."

"Sorry, Madam Pince, I was just putting back a book I was using and we were scanning some of the other book titles to see if there was anything we wanted to look at for the Dueling Club we run."

"No matter," the librarian waved at them, "Do what you need. Let me know if you need anything."

She walked back out and closed the door behind her, the sound of her heels against the floor becoming quieter with each step.

Hermione turned back to Draco and they both laughed, "I've never seen her be so nice to anyone snooping around her books," Draco said.

"Oh I've always been her favorite, I think," Hermione said earnestly, "Gosh that was…"

"Thrilling," he winked at her.

She thought about it for a second and shrugged with an embarrassed smile, "I guess that word fits."

"Shall we get to the Dueling Club before our members beat us there?"

She sighed, "I suppose we should."

They wandered up to the DADA classroom together from the library and entered the classroom to find a few students already milling about.

"Good evening!" Hermione said airily as they walked up to the front.

"Welcome back!" Patrick called.

"Hey Professor Granger!" Fiona waved, looking up from her conversation with Marielle, a girl from the sixth year Gryffindor class. Hermione had noticed the two had been spending a bit of time together since the Masquerade Ball and smiled to herself. House Unity events could work after all.

Draco and Hermione moved the desks aside and set up pillows at each station as more students trickled in. The group had grown to about eighty students since the beginning of the school year and they'd had to do some rearranging. The groups were now split into two groups and they'd added some seating "hang outs" to do a rotation of groups one and two during the evenings so that no one was standing in line for ten minutes in between spells.

This week they were practicing Levicorpus again so the students could get a better handle on the spell. There were far more students levitating in the air than there had been the first time around and Hermione couldn't help but feel some pride in the improvement, while also wishing she'd been present for the last few meetings. She and Draco stole glances at each other throughout the night, though they tried not to make it obvious.

As the students filed out of the room and the door shut behind them, Draco walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, "It's much more difficult not to touch you now that you're mine," he said in her ear.

"Adds to the fun of it, doesn't it?" She replied, leaning back into him as he squeezed her gently before loosening his grip as she turned around.

"Very much so," he grinned, kissing her softly, "Never thought I'd consider sleeping with a Hogwarts professor either, but that's kind of a fun thought too."

She felt chills pop up on her arm as she closed her eyes to think about it for a moment.

"But before I can do that, I was thinking I should take you out on a proper date."

She opened her eyes and looked at him curiously, "I mean we've gone to the three broomsticks," she said, "That was a nice date."

"That's hardly a date," he scoffed, "I couldn't even hold your hand and it's _pub fare_. I'd like to take you out to a nice dinner somewhere a bit fancier, and away from Hogwarts. Dinner, drinks, perhaps some dancing. A _proper_ date."

She laughed, "I mean if you feel that's what you need to do, I won't object."

"Wonderful," he kissed her again, "Let's get back to my room then."

"I just need to grab my bag from my room," she told him, "I'll be down to the dungeons in a little bit."

They left the room together and split at the Entrance Hall, Hermione returning to grab a bag of clothes for the next day before she walked back out and shut her door.

"Evening, Hermione!" Dean said as he turned the corner from the stairs and walked down the hall towards his room.

"Hi Dean," she said, her heart beating a little faster like she'd been caught doing something inappropriate.

He walked by her and she opened up her own door and walked back in, shutting it behind her as though that was her destination all along. She waited another five minutes before opening the door and scanning the hallway, which was empty now. She stepped out and locked her door, walking briskly down the hallways towards the main staircase. She didn't slow her pace until she'd reached the Slytherin professor hallway, coming to a stop outside of Draco's door and running her fingers through her hair once or twice before she knocked.

"It's open!" He called as she heard it click.

She pushed the door open and was met with an underwear-clad Draco. Perhaps her favorite kind of Draco. Her lips split into a broad smile and she closed the door tightly behind her, dropping her bag at the door, throwing off her robes and stepping out of her pants to join him.

"Good evening,_ Professor_," he said as she sauntered up to him and he pulled her in to kiss her deeply; like he'd wanted to for hours. She moaned softly and he smiled against her lips before stepping back from her and holding out his hand and they walked to the bedroom, chatting lightly about the day.

They crawled into bed and entangling themselves together in the sheets, their bodies warming immediately at the other's touch. They talked for a bit in between kisses until the kissing started overpowering the talking. It really did make it more exciting that they couldn't acknowledge their connection to each other during the day. They had to behave in public and then all of that suppressed passion could come out in the evenings. Their tongues massaged each other softly as her hands wandered down his body, from his chest, down his stomach, down his thigh and back up before coming to rest on exactly the part of his body he was hoping she would pause at.

Her hand moved slowly up and back down again and he looked at her with a devious grin, moving his hand down her neck and softly over her chest before kissing her hungrily again. She kissed him back the same way, loving the level of comfort she had in being intimate with him. This newly-found sexual confidence was enthralling. Something she'd never explored with Ron, who had always been a bit awkward when they'd tried to be intimate. This was far and large a different level of connection.

She nudged his shoulder slightly and he turned onto his back as she floated over him, her hair falling heavily over to the side. She kissed him again before moving her lips down his body in a similar route her hands had just taken, as she pushed his boxers off and to the side.

"Does this still count as taking things slow?" Her hands landed on his hip bones as she looked back up at him with a grin that would rival any Slytherin-worthy look.

He gave another laugh that hinted at shock and intrigue mixed with heavy lust, "Seems like a perfectly reasonable pace to me."

"Wonderful, just making sure," she said before returning her attention south.

Draco lay his head back with a very content sigh and his hand slipped into her hair as he closed his eyes. He would have been perfectly happy holding her and kissing her all night, but he certainly was not going to complain about taking this step forward. He moved her hair to the other side, holding it off of her shoulders before he let his breathing deepen as he let his mind go blank and he tuned into every sensation she was making him feel. He must have been the luckiest bloke alive.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	15. The Dinner Guest

**Chapter 15:** The Dinner Guest

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Draco woke up early the next Saturday morning, the clock on his dresser telling him it was half-past five and he rolled back to where he'd been, arm wrapped tightly around the girl next to him. They'd been together for almost a month now, with two weeks under their belt of keeping their relationship quiet in front of everyone else. He kissed her shoulder, pushing her hair back so he could reach her neck. He felt her stir and grinned against her skin as she sighed sleepily, turning onto her back. His lips found her cheek and she smiled, opening one eye and closing it again. He kissed her cheek again and she laughed, opening her eye at him once more and reaching around for his arm to push him away playfully.

He kissed her again and her hand found his face, patting his cheek gently with another sigh.

He grabbed her hand and kissed that too and she finally blinked both eyes open, "What time is it?" She yawned.

"Very early," he replied, "But I'm awake and you looked ravishing."

She wrapped her arm over his shoulder and pulled him down to her, planting one more kiss on his lips and rolling back over, "You're a lot," she mumbled. He chuckled at her and settled himself back in close, rubbing her arm as he buried his face in the crook of her neck to try and sleep some more.

They had plans for a date that evening, intricate plans that included leaving the castle at different times with different stories before meeting outside the Hogwarts gates to apparate to a small spot in London that Draco had made reservations at. Hermione covered her thigh-length black dress with her cloak and hoped the clip-clop of her boots would be less noticeable to anyone milling about than it was in her own head. She'd used her Sleekeazy hair potion to soften her curls into waves and accompanied her outfit with a respectably sized ruby necklace that hung down to her chest atop the fabric of her dress.

She left her room with a peek out into the hall. She tried to walk softly against the stone floor and could feel her heart beating fast in her chest, which felt wholly unnecessary. She rounded the corner to see Ginny walking up the staircase with her broom in hand.

"Hey Hermione!" She called as she skipped up the last of the stairs.

"Hi Ginny," she paused, "Have a good fly around?"

"Yeah just needed to get out for a little bit," she threw the broom over her shoulder, "Where are you headed this evening?"

"Oh just going into town to pick up some supplies for the Dueling Club and some classes next week," she said nonchalantly, hoping Ginny had plans already that evening.

"Well I'd love to come keep you company," Ginny started and Hermione felt her heart pound again, "But Harry and I are going out for dinner tomorrow so we agreed to do some cleaning and work tonight."

"No worries at all," Hermione smiled at her, "We'll go out and do some shopping another day. Have a nice relaxing evening."

"See you, Hermione," Ginny waved as she started off back down the hall towards her room.

Hermione took a deep breath as she descended the staircase to slow her heart rate again and left the castle without any other run-ins. She walked past the gates of the Hogwarts grounds where Draco was leaning against a tree waiting for her. He held his hand out silently and she took it as he apparated them away from the school.

They landed hard on their feet on a side street in London and Draco immediately pulled her close and kissed her soundly, "Evening, Granger."

"Very suave," she commented, kissing him once more before they shed their cloaks, muggle jackets underneath to traverse muggle London. They stowed their cloaks in her expandable purse and he took her hand to lead her down the sidewalk. They turned onto the main street and walked a couple of blocks until they reached an alleyway with one flickering light above a door down the alley.

"This way," he grinned and she looked at it skeptically.

"Is this where you tell me you are actually evil and you're taking me to your dark lair?" She joked.

"Took you long enough to realize it," he raised his eyebrows at her playfully as they walked down the alley and he tapped on the door with his wand. A series of clicks could be heard inside and the door swung open, revealing a dimly lit restaurant inside with sleek tables and waiters in silky cloaks. They shrugged their jackets off and Draco walked up to the host.

"Reservation for Malfoy," he said and the wizard looked up, nodding quickly and flipping through some pages.

"Wonderful, Mr. Malfoy, right this way," he said in a thick French accent.

He led them to a private table near the back of the restaurant and took their coats for them to hang on the wall before pulling out the chair for Hermione.

"Thank you," she said a little awkwardly, not entirely used to the protocol at these types of places.

"Your waiter will be right with you. We do hope you enjoy."

He left and Draco leaned towards her across the table, grabbing her hand, "You look stunning."

She blushed, but smiled at him, "You clean up alright too."

"I know," he said smugly before he let his eyes wander the restaurant for a moment, "This gem was always my mother's favorite restaurant," he told her, "We came here often when I was young and it's one of the few my mother and I would come out to after our trials, when we needed to get out of the Manor."

"It's lovely. I'm surprised this place is in the muggle part of town."

"It added to the allure that most people don't know where it is. Kind of an invitation-only restaurant. Once you know it's here, you're always welcome back."

"Sounds right up your alley," she joked.

The waiter walked up to their table, his hands behind his back and paper and quill hovering next to him, "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," he said as Draco and Hermione exchanged amused looks, "Tonight our chef has prepared a six course meal that we will be bringing out one course at a time. In the meantime, what can I bring you to drink?"

"We'd like a bottle of the Merlin's Merlot, please," Draco said in an authoritative, but respectful voice.

The quill wrote down the selection and the waiter nodded, "Very fine choice sir, I will return with your glasses momentarily." He nodded at them and turned towards the bar area.

"He must be new," Draco mused as he turned his attention back to Hermione, who was smiling sweetly at him.

"You seem in your element tonight," she commented.

"They treat me with respect here," he said seriously, "They know my name of course, but the owners knew my mother and I personally and they were always welcoming. I feel much more comfortable here than I do in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade where the eyes follow me. Plus, witches and wizards from around the world dine here all the time so the chances that others recognize me are much lower. Not impossible of course, our family friends enjoyed this place as well. But at least lower chances of an _uncomfortable_ run in."

She nodded, "I didn't notice anyone staring when we were at the Three Broomsticks."

"That's because you weren't looking for it," he gave her a half smile, "A few people stared as we walked in and lingered on us for a bit. You were just too lost in my eyes to give it attention."

"I was not lost in your eyes," she laughed although he was highly correct.

"Either way, I like coming here," he grinned.

The waiter returned and the glasses hovered as he presented the bottle, "Merlin's Merlot, Mr. Malfoy." Draco nodded his approval and the waiter poured the wine into each glass and cast it in front of them, "Your first course shall be out shortly."

Draco grabbed his glass and held it up as Hermione clinked her glass against his, "To new beginnings," he said sincerely.

"To new beginnings," she echoed.

They settled in to their evening as they sipped their wine, courses coming out slowly through their conversation, (which were delicious), Draco telling her the more pleasant and funny stories from his childhood; about his mother parading him around in a full suit and tie at the age of six during one of their parties; about his father scolding him after learning he was only second in the class at Hogwarts, not to mention his repeated Quidditch losses against Harry; his mother playing piano for him for hours on end because she was determined to hone his appreciation for classical music.

Hermione loved this side of him; the carefree, story-riddled side. His face was bright and there was a certain joy about him when he thought back to a time in life that was easier; a time that made more sense. She understood the feeling, talking about her childhood was easy. Times were light then.

He'd asked her about having muggle friends growing up and she'd told him about the neighborhood kids she grew up with and how her parents had to keep up a story of her attending a boarding school while she was away at Hogwarts. She'd told him how difficult it had gotten after a while to keep up the friendships when she couldn't tell them what she really was and how eventually, her life in the wizarding world had taken over and she was needed here and lost touch. But she recalled the games they would play in the street until it got dark out and the call of her mother from the front porch when it was dinner time. Always the same sing-song call.

"You kind of just become friends with the people you live by where I'm from," she shrugged with a laugh, "We were a mismatched group of kids, different ages, different backgrounds, but we would all go out and play together because that's just what you did in the neighborhood. It was wonderful."

"That is one thing I never got to experience, growing up at the manor. A blessing and a curse to not have any other houses close by."

"Well what about your friends - Blaise and Pansy, you said? How did you become close with them?"

"Our families were friends," he said with the hint of a smile on his face, "We all grew up together in the means of social gatherings. The parties I was paraded around, they were paraded as well, along with Crabbe and Goyle."

"You're not as close with Goyle anymore?" She asked.

He shook his head with a heavy sigh, "No, we watched Crabbe die together, I think we needed some space from each other after that. He didn't get why I walked away. I'm sure he still blames me for Crabbe's death. We tried to talk once or twice after that but we just didn't have anything to say."

"Sorry, I know this is supposed to be a nice night," Hermione said, realizing the depth of that conversation.

"That's alright, this is life now. The good times will always be shrouded in some form of darkness, or at least fog, of the war."

She nodded at the crushing reality of the statement, "So I actually wanted to ask you a little about your friendship with —."

"Pansy?" Draco's voice held more surprise than the question warranted and she tilted her head at him, realizing he was looking past her.

"Draco Malfoy, my long lost love!" Came the silky voice of Pansy Parkinson and the clicking of heels against the floor.

Draco stood and Hermione turned in her chair as Draco pulled Pansy into a tight hug before pulling back and smiling at the girl, "Well I never would have believed it, but I've missed you after all," he said jokingly.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, her hand still on his shoulder as he took a step back. Hermione couldn't help but notice that the girl was still beautiful; long black hair, a revealing green dress just long enough to be considered sophisticated, her eyes lit with excitement to see Draco.

"I'm here on a date with my girlfriend," he said matter-of-factly, holding his hand out for Hermione, who took it and stood with her head high to face Pansy, unsure what kind of greeting to expect. She knew they were trying to keep things quiet to her friends, but she didn't mind being introduced proudly to Pansy as his girlfriend.

"Your — Draco — _girlfriend_?" She looked back and forth between the two for a second and Hermione glanced over at Draco before looking back at her, waiting for the reaction, "Oh this is just too precious. Draco Malfoy is dating Hermione Granger." She laughed, but it didn't hold animosity, she just seemed… sincerely amused. She shook her head after a moment, her hair glistening in the dim lighting above, "You've got to forgive me," she looked at Hermione, "This just threw me for a good one. How are you, Granger? It's nice to meet you as Draco's girlfriend."

"Well, thank you," Hermione responded politely, "It's nice to see you, Pansy."

"I doubt that's true," the girl placed a hand on her arm with a laugh, "We were quite wicked at Hogwarts. I promise we've grown up. This is just too funny."

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked her with a genuine smile.

"Also on a date," she wiggled her eyebrows inconspicuously, "He's a Chaser for the Wimbourne Wasps."

Draco grinned, "Well you best get back to him before he thinks you've ran out."

"It was great to see you," she hugged him again before turning to Hermione and pulling her into an unexpected hug, "I guess this means we'll have to do lunch sometime, Granger. Girl talk," she winked at Draco before waving to them both and heading back through the tables where a sleek, slim man built like a Chaser stood by their table with his hands in his pockets; he had defined features that caught the light of the candles overhead, his ebony skin flawlessly glowing as he waited patiently for her to return before he pulled out her chair with a charming smile. Hermione wasn't surprised that she'd shown up with such an attractive man, which made her feel even more self conscious about herself as they took their seats again. She'd need to ask Draco what was on her mind.

Draco sighed, "Haven't seen her since the beginning of last summer, sorry, I hope that wasn't uncomfortable."

"It was only uncomfortable because it wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be," Hermione said with a laugh, "I thought she'd be upset to see you dating me."

"Not these days. As she said, we were just not nice school kids. Her and I had a lot of talks over the last few years trying to reconcile it all and make changes for the better. Her more than me, actually. I just sat in the manor and tried to keep myself out of it all, she actually went back for the 7th year re-do with everyone else and tried to stay under the radar. She works part-time for the Ministry now in the Department of International Magical Co-operation. She speaks a few different languages so it kind of just worked out. Like me, she doesn't really _need_ to work, financially, she just wanted to do something positive with her life after supporting the Death Eaters. Well—," he paused, "Supporting me really. She never cared for the Death Eaters themselves, but I was one of them and she cared for me."

This seemed like a perfect segway and Hermione took it, "So did you two date, then?"

Draco looked at her curiously, "I see now what you were about to ask earlier. Yes, we did. A couple of times, actually. For about a year during Hogwarts - fifth year, and then again after Hogwarts for maybe half a year. She was there for me after the trial and it just sort of happened and then after a while we realized we were just best friends that needed someone to cling to after the trauma and we split quite amicably."

"That I understand," Hermione said dryly.

"She'll want to get to know you," he told her, "I'm sure she was serious about lunch. That's just how she is. She's always been pretty involved in my life."

"Something I'll have to get used to, I guess," she gave him a small smile and paused, trying to keep herself from the next sentence that spilled out of her mouth, "So did you sleep with her then?"

Draco chuckled, "Yes," he said simply, not feeling the need to give any more information than that, letting her do with it what she would.

Hermione nodded slowly, she didn't know what she wanted to do with it either, she'd just been compelled to ask. Pansy was beautiful and confident and they were obviously close. His answer didn't surprise her in the slightest, perhaps she'd just been hoping that the answer was no. But that wasn't fair, she'd obviously slept with Ron.

"She'll never be a threat to you," he leaned a little closer, "I hope you know that. No one really compares to you in my eyes."

His eyes were looking through her, like they always did, sensing her insecurity and dispelling it in one fell swoop, "That's just the kind of thing a gentleman would say."

He grabbed her hand lightly, "I don't know how I missed it back then, but not only are you beautiful, but you're smarter, braver, wittier, and stronger than any woman I've ever met. Not to mention that you're just a genuine person who sees the best in others. It didn't take me long to learn all of that once I opened my eyes to it."

"Well I was hoping for two or three more compliments, but I guess that will do," she gave him a crooked smile as the waiter levitated the dessert course over, placing each plate perfectly in front of them before excusing himself again.

"I feel very lucky to have gotten a second chance at meeting you," he said quietly with a glance, picking up his fork to slice through the smooth mousse.

She gave him an appreciative smile back before she dug into her own dessert, "You certainly made a better impression the second time around." And he certainly knew how to make her feel confident in what they had even when her instincts were to feel unsure. She felt special to him, different from whatever else he'd had in his life already. It was a refreshing feeling.

At the end of the meal, instead of bringing a check, the waiter brought over a piece of paper with the total and a signature line. Draco took the man's golden pen and signed his name before pulling his wand from an inside pocket in his blazer, tapping the paper with it and handing it back to the waiter.

"We hope to see you again soon, Mr. Malfoy," the waiter nodded at them with a slight bow before he walked over to the next table.

"What was that?" Hermione asked, "Do you not have to pay here for some reason? Some Malfoy thing?"

Draco grinned at her, "No, they just have a wonderful system here where they can authorize them to move money directly from your Gringott's account. The pen is charmed to detect the correct signature for the related account and then each patron has a unique identification password they authorize it with. They walk you through it on your first visit and you can either choose to link your Gringott's account, which they Floo in a goblin from the bank for, or you can just pay in galleons. We knew we'd come here often after our first visit so it's been linked for years."

"Almost like a debit card," Hermione commented and Draco tilted his head at her in confusion, "Sorry, it's a muggle item. A card you swipe that transfers money without having to carry cash… which is like galleons, only paper."

"Odd," Draco said, "But yes, sounds similar. But why paper? Paper is so easily destroyed."

"Well it's also much lighter than carrying around gold everywhere you go," she laughed.

"But gold has a wonderful jingle to it," Draco stood, holding out his hand, which she took with a roll of her eyes and he lead her away from the door towards a door at the back of the restaurant.

"Is the exit back here?" She asked.

"No, they have a lovely secondary business in the back," his lip curled up and his eyes were bright as he pushed the door open and ushered her through.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	16. The Alchemist Den

**Chapter 16**: The Alchemist Den

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Where the restaurant was quiet and reserved, this room was quite the opposite. It was large and buzzing with patrons, a grand bar off to the side and small intimate tables scattered about the floor. Everything looked…_ lux_; Ornate and expensive to match the witches and wizards within. As she looked around, she recognized faces from Quidditch magazine covers and the Daily Prophet, and even took note of a few goblins at the back of the room in the corner speaking with a group of ministry officials. There was smooth music seemingly filling the air around them, the bar to the right was stocked with bottles of firewhiskey and an array of other alcohols in bright colors she'd never seen before. The lighting was dim, making the brightness of the shelves stand out even more against the mahogany features surrounding it. She felt as though she'd just slipped inside a secret high-society meeting.

She turned to Draco, eyes wide, "What is this place?"

"It's called _The Alchemist Den_," he said, placing his hand on the small of her back as he directed her through the rows of patrons and tables, "There's another entrance through that door back there for anyone not coming in through the restaurant."

"I've never been anywhere like this before," she looked around at the unique decor that gave the space an air of mystery and intrigue, "I think I saw goblins in the back! It's odd knowing your father used to come to the restaurant, what did he think about this place being attached to it? Obviously I think it's wonderful to see goblins here intermingling, but your father… I wouldn't suspect he'd feel the same."

"Well you have to remember, everyone here, whether witch, wizard, goblin, etc., everyone is very rich and high up in their own right. The goblins are likely executives at Gringotts here to talk business. My father understood and appreciated those facts, even if he had his biases against other species. He didn't come here much himself unless he had business to attend to, but I always enjoyed it very much."

Hermione nodded, looking around again, everyone was dressed in chic attire, the undertone of money and authority almost permeating each conversation they passed. As they reached the bar, the bartender walked over to them.

"Mr. Malfoy," he greeted him, "What can I get for you today?"

"I will take the flaming firewhiskey, and," he looked at Hermione, "Do you mind if I order you something?"

"Go ahead," she smiled at him, knowing she wouldn't have a clue what to order here.

"And could we have a gigglewater for the lady?"

She'd never heard of it before and looked on with intrigue as the bartender flicked his wand at the wall and two bottles floated down while he upturned two glasses. He poured a clear liquid into a martini glass and tapped it with his wand as it fizzed and hiccuped. He poured the amber liquid into a whiskey glass and tapped it as it burst into flames before tapering out.

"Tab?" He asked as he directed the bottles back to the shelf.

Draco nodded and the wizard grabbed a piece of paper similar to the restaurant check which he just wrote "Malfoy" on, and handed Draco a golden pen. Draco signed it, tapped it with his wand to authorize it and handed it back with a nod, placing his wand back into his blazer.

The bartender levitated it over to a line of hovering checks behind the bar before turning back to them with a smile, "Enjoy," he flicked his wand again as the glasses moved towards them and he moved onto the next wizard at the bar.

"You just pre-authorize the tab? What if they charge too many drinks to it?" Hermione asked and he laughed lightly.

"You can always check it at the end of the night," he shrugged.

"You've never checked it, have you?"

Draco realized how entitled it sounded and he shrugged again, "I will tonight if it makes you feel better."

She sighed with a shake of her head, "We're from two different worlds, you and I."

"I'm doing my best to change the things that count," he gave her a wry smile.

"You're doing quite good at that. Also, I am more than happy to split the bill with you. You shouldn't feel like you have to buy me things."

"I don't feel like I _have_ to, I just _want_ to. Tonight I am taking _you_ out," he said, "Because you are my girlfriend, and you deserve to be treated for dealing with me."

She laughed, "It has been a treat. _Almost_ makes dealing with your antics worth it."

"Well the evening isn't over yet," he winked at her, grabbing his drink from the counter and raising it to her, "To the first of many date nights."

She took a small sip of her drink to give it a taste and elicited a light laugh as her heart fluttered thinking about spending time together like this more often once they could be out in the open; Romantic dates, double dates, shopping dates, coffee dates. This was how a relationship was supposed to feel. Making time for each other and doing something special together once in a while. Even if the place was a bit haughty, there was something relaxing about being there with Draco, where he clearly felt so comfortable and at ease. The drink was smooth but strong and reminded her a bit of the vodka she'd had on holiday in Russia visiting Viktor, something she'd dragged Ron on, insisting that Viktor was happily in his own relationship and just wanted to continue their friendship. It had been an awkward weekend of Ron acting huffy and Viktor trying not to acknowledge it. This drink didn't have the burn that the vodka had, though, just the bite at the end.

She took a bigger sip and let out an uncharacteristically loud giggle, her eyes widening as she covered her mouth. Draco's grin widened and she looked at the drink and back at him, her eyes narrowing playfully, "You knew it was going to do that, didn't you."

"I absolutely did," he said, leaning over to kiss her before he took her hand and led her to an open table on the side wall. He sat down on the bench on one side of the table and motioned for her to sit next to him instead of across from him and she happily obliged.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and moved his lips to her ear, "There's a little something special that starts here in a few minutes."

She turned towards him, his face was close to hers and she felt pleasantly warm, "You are just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"Always, Granger," he said in a low voice before capturing her lips in a lingering kiss. It felt nice to not have to worry about being seen by anyone who would care.

She sighed contentedly and covered his hand that was resting on her leg with her own as he leaned his forehead against hers. The night had already been one to remember and she simultaneously wanted to stick around and see what else he had up his sleeve, and also drag him back to Hogwarts and snog him in bed. But tonight was his night to take her out and she would be patient and enjoy it all.

She settled in against him and took another large sip of her drink, not minding this time as the loud giggle spilled from her mouth as he chuckled softly beside her.

"One of the best things about this place is the wizard watching," Draco whispered to her as they looked around.

There was a goblin sitting at the table across from them with two wizards. It looked like they were all talking business. A few more tables down another witch and wizard couple were talking closely, a straw spinning slowly in the witch's drink for her. She noticed another pair of eyes on her and Draco from a wizard sitting at a corner table and did her best not to lock eyes with him.

Draco noticed it as well and leaned a bit closer, "Family friend," he said, "Probably just curious who I'm here with."

She nodded inconspicuously as she continued to scan the room. The music stopped and she looked around as the patrons at the tables around them stood and moved to the side walls, where they were, and the tables started moving themselves through a door near the back and into another room. She noticed as it happened that they had been placed on what looked like a dance floor that was clearing now.

"Care to dance?" He asked as he stood and she grabbed his hand. Other couples were moving onto the dancefloor now as well and a very short woman walked out of the back room, dressed all in black with a veil over her face and began a slow, crooning ballad as she danced herself mystically around the room.

Draco pulled her close, his hand making the same movement as the time they'd danced at the Masquerade Ball, thumb rubbing over hers and she knew now that there had been more to it then, too. Her hand rested on his chest as he lead her expertly in a dance along the floor. His movements were smooth and his eyes burned into hers as they fell into step. She could tell everyone here had been well trained in ballroom dance, something she'd consider herself proficient in, albeit not quite an expert.

The crooner sang a few songs and retreated back through the door as the music changed to something methodical with a beat behind it, from slow to fast and back again. The crowd grew as well, some younger patrons clearly showing up for the dancing as the business patrons thinned. She didn't know how long the music played, or how long they maneuvered the floor while they moved between talking, whispering and sharing shameless lustful glances as their bodies pressed together. The gigglewaters began to add up as her head swirled blissfully. This was the kind of carefree she could never have had with Ron. Draco let her explore another side to herself; a sexier side; a wilder side. She registered his lips on hers, planting small kisses as she took it all in, lost in a moment she could stay in forever; feeling young like she hadn't in so long. The war had made them grow up too soon and these were the kinds of things she still needed to experience in life.

She felt another hand on her back and a silky, teasing voice in her ear, "Looks like there's an even better show than I was hoping for back here."

She turned, her smile still plastered on her face as Pansy and her date came into view. She blushed a bit at the comment but laughed loosely, her mind too free to care as Draco spun her around and pulled her close again. She registered Pansy and her date dancing closely, lips locking in the dim lighting as well before she winked at Draco as her date moved to her neck, and he laughed back at her.

They danced well into the early hours of the morning, Pansy at one point pulling Hermione away from Draco to dance with her as the men stepped to the side to talk, watching them enjoy themselves. Pansy, much to Hermione's… surprise? Interest?... seemed like she was delighted to have the chance to spend the time with them doing something fun and spontaneous. She was the kind of girl who laughed a lot and shot her boyfriend sultry looks all while holding Hermione's hand and dancing with her to the music, shouting to her about things like grabbing coffee in Hogsmeade, and how happy Draco looked with her. Hermione had always considered herself a confident person, but the confidence Pansy exhibited was much beyond a normal person's. It was something a bit overwhelming, but almost as infectious as her laugh and she couldn't help but admit that she was having a wonderful time.

The group bought rounds of drinks to share and laughed together until Hermione's head started to spin faster and her eyes felt heavy as she grinned up at Draco, who had pulled her back into his arms a while ago.

He returned the look as his lips moved to her ear, "Perhaps it's time to head back?"

She smiled dreamily up at him with a nod and he kissed her once more before taking her hand and waving at Pansy and her date, who were slow dancing as they waved back. He walked towards the back door, where their jackets magically appeared for them to grab, and exited the establishment.

Draco apparated them back to the gates of Hogwarts and Hermione landed shakily, stumbling a couple steps with a laugh. Draco caught her around the waist and pulled her to him, kissing her more deeply now, as he'd wanted to for a while, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Did you have a nice time?" He asked.

"So wonderful," she looked at him in the dark, backlit by the castle up the path and even here she could see the light in his eyes, "I think I might like Pansy, you know."

"Well that's good to hear," he said, pushing her hair behind her ear, "That was a nice surprise, for you to meet her like that."

They both paused as voices filled the air from further down the path to Hogsmeade. Draco wrapped her around the waist again and spun them behind the large tree next to them and she landed huddled against his chest, holding her breath.

"Bloody hell, Seamus!" Ron's slurred voice echoed through the air as Seamus burst into laughter.

"Buck up, Weasley! We're just joking around."

Ron mumbled something and two boys laughed harder as they passed by the tree in front of the gates and wandered through.

"Same time next week then?" Came Dean's voice as he slapped Ron's back.

"Course, mate," Ron hit him back, throwing an arm around his shoulders partly to steady himself and partly in jest.

Their voices got quieter in the following minutes as Draco and Hermione stood silently in their hiding place. Once they'd gone inside Hermione let out her breath and leaned her head heavily on Draco's chest, "That was close!"

Draco looked down at her, wishing they didn't need to hide like this, but understanding, "How about you head up first and I'll wait a few minutes before I get on."

"Alright," she leaned up to kiss him, before fishing both of their cloaks from her bag and handing Draco his, "I'll meet you in the dungeons."

He nodded as he wrapped his cloak around his shoulders, "See you soon, Granger," he kissed her once more before she turned from him and he watched as she walked up towards the castle with his hands in his pockets.

He wondered how much time she would need before she was ready to let their secret out. He hoped it wasn't long because his feelings for her were only growing the more time they spent together and the nights away from her felt longer. He would do his best to let her decide when the time was right but he had a feeling the conversation was bound to come up again soon with the students and professors back.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	17. Tension Rising

**Chapter 17**: Tension Rising

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

January crept by slowly as the weather kept everyone inside, making it even more difficult to steal a kiss here or there. They'd get out in the early mornings on the weekends when no one would be awake for a walk by the lake or a coffee under the tree, talking about whatever book they'd been reading or whatever funny story had happened in one of their classes. The conversation flowed easily and their level of comfort around the other made it feel like they'd know each other intimately for years.

They spent most nights together, their bottled-up emotions for each other using that time as their outlet to snog all over Draco's room from the couch to the chair to the kitchen counter to the table to the bed. They still hadn't slept together, something they hadn't talked about since Draco had told her he wanted to wait until the time was right, but that certainly hadn't stopped them exploring in every other way they could. It was difficult not being totally out in the open, but they were making the best of it while the time passed.

"Hermione, Luna and I were thinking of taking a trip into Hogsmeade next weekend," Ginny said to her as a group of the professors chatted in the Great hall after dinner one evening.

"That sounds wonderful," Hermione smiled. It seemed Ginny was more than ready to get over the awkwardness of her brother's breakup now and Hermione was glad for it. She'd missed her time with Ginny.

"My father gave me a list of ingredients I'll need from the apothecary in town for a potion I'd like to brew," Luna said airily, "I've noticed an influx of nargles after the holiday season, probably from all the mistletoe, but he's got a great remedy I wanted to try."

"Her father says it smells a bit like wet feet," Neville mentioned as Luna shot him a glare and he flushed a bit, "But… er... he swears it'll help with the problem, so it'll be worth it. We just have to spray it all over Luna's room."

"Guessing you'll be staying at your place for a while then," Harry grinned at Neville.

"Yes, I've suggested to Lovebug — er, Luna, that she come stay with me for a few days to let it air out a bit."

Luna giggled as he said Lovebug and wrapped her arms around his waist, "Since he's helping me with the nargles, I agreed to spend some time in the greenhouses with him planting the new batch of mandrakes. I've always thought mandrakes were just a bit misunderstood. If you sing them a good tune as you re-pot them, they calm right down."

"Ah, that's the key, Harry," Ron said jokingly, "Just have to sing them a good tune."

"Granger," Draco walked up behind her from the professors table where he'd been talking with McGonagall.

"Hi, Malfoy," she smiled at him as (most of) the others eyed him warily, Harry nodding a warm greeting from behind her.

"Mind if I steal a word regarding the Dueling Club next week?"

"Of course," she said, waving at the others and stepping away with him out of the main doors and down a hallway, where he looked around them before pulling her behind one of the statues.

She laughed, landing in his arms with her hands on his chest.

"Good evening, professor," she whispered.

He grinned, leaning in to kiss her, "You gave me a look earlier," he responded against her lips, "And I couldn't wait until later," he captured them again and she snaked her arms around his neck, giving in to the moment as her heart rate sped up. They shouldn't be out in the open like this.

Footsteps broke them apart and they held their breath as a group of Ravenclaws passed by the statue chatting about the upcoming Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff match.

As their voices faded, Hermione looked back up at Draco with an embarrassed smile and he kissed her once more, "Alright, sneak back out and I'll see you in the dungeons later," he conceded as he let her go.

"I'll see you tonight," she reassured him, squeezing his hand before she peeked out from the statue and slipped back out into the hallway and towards Gryffindor Tower.

"Hermione!" Came Ginny's voice as she poked her head out of her room, "Thought I heard your footsteps!"

"You can tell my footsteps?" She laughed, walking past her room and into the doorway of Harry and Ginny's.

"When you hear someone walk enough, you learn their pace," the girl said matter-of-factly, her long red hair flowing down her back as she flipped it over her shoulder.

"What's up?" Hermione asked.

"Wondering if you wanted to have a cappuccino and hang for a bit," she asked brightly, "Harry's out with Ron so I thought we could catch up."

"Sure, let me just change into something comfortable," Hermione smiled, she wouldn't be heading down to Draco's room until much later anyway.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Morning, Malfoy," Hermione sped up her pace to catch up with him in the hallway on a Friday morning.

"Good morning, Granger," he gave her a coy smile as she fell into step with him and students rushed by in both directions.

"Do you have any fun plans this weekend?" She asked, a game they played regularly these days as a way to make plans in the open.

"I'll be going to dinner tomorrow, around seven, at this little place in London. You'd like it."

"Going with anyone special?" She avoided his eye, her voice casual.

"Very," he said, catching the blush on her cheeks.

"Sounds wonderful. You'll have to tell me all about it."

"And you, Granger? Anything fun?"

"Going into Hogsmeade with Ginny and Luna Saturday morning before some dinner plans. And I was thinking I'd make Sunday morning breakfast. Something simple like pancakes, but I've had a sweet tooth lately."

"Sounds like a treat," he raised his eyebrows and nodded his head.

"Professor Malfoy! Professor Granger!" Came McGonagall's voice through their conversation.

Hermione froze, turning around as she caught up with them, "Sorry to grab you on your way to class, but I was going to send an owl later anyway," Hermione's heart pounded in her chest, had they been found out? Did it matter? "It's come to my attention that the Dueling Club is over capacity for the DADA classroom so I've granted you permission to use the old theater hall on the third floor."

Hermione felt her heart rate normalize again and she furrowed her brows for a moment, processing the information, "I forgot that room existed," she looked over at Draco who looked confused, "Where is it located?"

"Yes, we've had no reason for it for a long time, there used to be a theater club that would put on productions there but there hasn't been enough interest to ever restart it. It's past the trophy room towards where the forbidden corridor used to be. Surely you remember where that was," she said knowingly.

"I — yes, I believe I remember," Hermione gave her a sheepish smile.

"We'll send a notice around to the Dueling Club participants," Draco told McGonagall.

"Wonderful," she paused, looking like she had something more she wanted to say, "I'm very proud of you two for working together to make the club such a success."

"It's been fun, truly," Hermione said as Draco nodded in agreement, catching her eye with a grin.

McGonagall looked between them curiously before nodding, "Alright, well, off to your classes then."

She walked briskly away from them, scolding two students who were running down the hall.

Hermione turned back to Draco, who reached for her hand out of instinct. Her eyes widened at him as they made contact and she pulled her hand back, "Sorry," he said, looking around. Nobody was paying them any attention as it was, and he felt a pang of frustration that he couldn't simply grab her hand for a moment.

"It's okay, doesn't seem like anyone's watching" she said, willing her heart rate to slow again for the second time that morning.

"Well, off to class like McGonagall said, I guess," Draco gave her a half-smile that didn't meet his eyes.

"Dr-Malfoy," she said softly.

"See you around, Granger," he took a step back before turning and heading towards the potions classroom without giving her a chance to respond. He needed a bit to cool down again after her reaction to his slip-up. It was the first real slip up he'd had and her notion to pull away from him was the first real indication he'd seen that she decidedly was not ready to be out in the open. He'd heard her say it of course, and they'd talked about it, but this made those words real. He took a deep breath as he walked through the Potions door. He'd put it from his mind. He'd see her tomorrow afternoon, anyway, as she had plans with Harry and Neville that evening, and all would return to normal for now.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Draco awoke to a brisk Sunday morning naked and tangled with Hermione. He pulled her closer so he could feel the curve of her back against him, kissing her shoulder and thinking about their night out at the Alchemist Den the evening before as she stirred with a soft hum. He ran his fingers down her arm and she shivered, the hint of a smile ghosting across her features as she tried not to give in to him.

"I see your smile," he whispered, kissing her neck as she shivered again, her smile broadening as her eyes remained closed.

"I can _feel_ yours," she mumbled back, acknowledging the part of him that was currently demanding her attention under the blankets.

He let out a mischievous laugh, moving his hand under the blanket to graze slowly down her bare leg and around to move back up her thigh.

She pushed back against him with a soft sigh, wrapping her arm behind her and around his neck.

"Oh, are you waking up _now_?" He asked coyly as he caressed her skin.

"Mmhmm," she murmured happily before turning over and pressing flush against him, capturing his lips and draping her leg over his.

"This is just too tempting," he said, hand moving around to her backside as their lips broke apart and she grinned at him, kissing him once more before she rolled back over and pushed herself up, "Wha— where are you going!?" He said indignantly.

"To teach you not to wake me up early on a Sunday morning," she yawned, stretching as she grabbed a robe from the chair and turned back to him with a wink, opening the door and walking into the living room.

Draco lay back with a groan and he heard her chuckle from the other room, "You're a menace, you know that Granger," he called in a tone of frustration, mixed with a tinge of admiration for how she played the game.

"I'm making pancakes," she called back, ignoring him.

They sat on opposite ends of the couch half an hour later in their underwear with plates of pancakes in their hands and their legs wrapped up together in the middle.

"What have you got planned for the day?" Hermione asked as she savored a particularly sugary bite off her fork.

"Potter wanted to fly around the pitch and go for drinks," he said casually, "It'll be our first outing since we returned to school."

"Sounds wonderful," she smiled, more than pleased to hear that their friendship was still blossoming. Harry had been busy the last few weekends helping the Weasleys with some projects around the Burrow so he hadn't had as much free time as he usually would and Hermione had hoped he hadn't been avoiding her and Draco in the meantime.

"I'm guessing he doesn't know about us?"

Hermione paused mid-chew before she swallowed, "Actually, I did tell Harry."

Draco looked up with interest, "Oh? Recently?"

"When they first got back. He's impossible to lie to."

Draco grinned, "Well it's nice to know we have one person that knows our secret that we can be ourselves around."

"And Pansy," Hermione noted, "She sent me an owl yesterday to get lunch in Hogsmeade soon."

"Are you going to go?"

"Of course I am," she said with a laugh, "We had a perfectly nice time dancing."

"You're not worried someone will see you dining with her and wonder what's up?"

"If they do, I'll just say we ran into each other in Flourish and Blotts and got into a discussion about a book, which we decided to take to lunch and give each other a fresh start. You and I have become friends and we've been open about our friendship, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibilities that Pansy and I could have as well."

"Sounds like you've thought that through," he said dryly, cutting through another piece of pancake.

"It's not time to tell the world yet, Draco," she said softly, "I'm so happy with you, but I'm not ready for the reaction yet."

He nodded slowly, "From Weasley?"

"And the students," she sighed, his tone was making it clear that he was starting to tire of keeping things quiet, "We've talked about this. I want people to know this is real when we reveal it, and not just some rebound. I need some space from Ron, physically, as well as time-wise, to feel like it won't be a scandal. It hasn't even been three months since him and I ended our relationship."

"I know," he said a bit icily, standing with his empty plate and walking to the kitchen as he did his best to keep his temper in check.

She watched after him sadly for a moment before she followed him, placing her plate on the counter and grabbing him around the waist from behind, "You know you're cute when you're mad," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Mmhmm," he responded, turning on the water, letting his plate hover and flicking his wand at the sponge to start washing.

"And you know how happy I am with you, don't you?" She said quieter, starting to feel a bit insecure with his mood.

"Yes, I think you mentioned that."

"And do you know how lucky I feel that I get to call you mine?" She asked.

"Call me yours to _whom_?" The sponge started scrubbing his plate harder and he grabbed it midair as the sponge fell into the sink, before placing it on the drying rack. He wasn't proud when his temper flared like this, but he couldn't help but feel like she was as embarrassed of his past as he was, and that perhaps hiding their relationship had more reasons behind it than she would like to admit.

"Draco, look at me," she said more directly as he sighed, pausing a moment for a deep breath before he turned, leaning back against the counter as she stayed rooted to her spot with her arms around his middle, "I'm sorry this isn't as easy as I wish it was. I feel really good about you and me, and it's scary in a way to share it with the world because I don't want whatever's out there to impact this wonderful thing we've found in each other."

"You can't let the fear of that hold you back forever, hold _us_ back," he said, his eyes piercing through her. These thoughts had started forming in his head after her reaction to his slip-up Friday morning and had clearly needed to free themselves from his mind, "How are we ever going to move forward if you want us to hide in this safety net, alone and away from the world? That's not reality. In fact, it's a reality I've lived for the last five years; Hiding in the Manor alone, away from the world, staying stagnant while the rest of the world moved forward without me. I want to live life with you, Granger. Out in the world. Together. Unless there's a reason you don't want us to be out in the world together. Which honestly, maybe I wouldn't even blame you for," he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Stop that, I do want that," she said firmly, knowing she needed to better explain, "Very much so. But Draco, I was engaged to Ron after dating for five years. I need to remove myself from the stigma of that. Whether it'd been over for a while or not, we were together and I want what you and I have to be completely separate from that situation; to be its own thing with its own importance," he looked away again and she turned his head back towards her, "I need you to know that you're incredibly important to me. I've never been as happy or felt so completely myself as I feel with you and I told you at the end of the Holiday break that I just needed some time and you had agreed to let me have that. That's all this is, just the time I had told you I need to take in between the end of that and the beginning of this being out in the open. I want this and I want _you_. Just trust me."

He stared at her for a few seconds before exhaling loudly through his nose. It wasn't going to do any good to fight with her and it was clear she wasn't hesitant about her feelings for him or voicing those feeling _to_ him so he'd have to just bury it for now and let things continue until she was ready... or until it became unbearable, "Fine."

"_Fine_," she repeated with the hint of a laugh.

"Sorry," he tried hard to change his tone into something softer, though he was sure it still sounded strained, "It's getting harder for me to hide how I feel and have this totally different relationship with you from sundown to sunup. It's like we have to be different people."

"I know. But it won't be forever, just a little while longer. In the grand scheme of things it'll be a blip on the radar for us."

He huffed out a small laugh as his lip curled up at the confidence in her statement, "Alright," he pushed off from the counter and wrapped his arms around her neck, pulling her close and resting his head on hers, "Sorry, I'm not great with emotions. You kind of get all or nothing."

"I like all," she said as he loosened his arms to look down at her, "And I understand your frustrations, it's just a line I feel I have to tip-toe a little longer and then we're home free."

"How much longer do you think? For my own expectations." Maybe a timeline would make it easier.

"A few weeks; a month maybe, not long, Draco. I want to be open about everything as much as you do. It just still feels too close to everything. But I want to live life with you as well. We'll barely remember how hard this was when we look back on it later on."

Draco brushed his thumb down her cheek, his heart swelling thinking about a future with the girl in front of him and being in a place where they could look back on this time together, "I'm looking forward to that."

"And so am I."

He leaned down and kissed her, lingering for a moment before he pulled back again, "Well I've got a date with Potter, so I'm going to have to get dressed."

She relaxed at his change of tone and let go of him, "Yes, don't keep him waiting on my account."

They dressed and she left his room soon after while he gathered his broom and flying gear.

As Hermione turned the corner towards the stairs from the dungeons, she nearly ran into Marielle, the sixth year Gryffindor that had joined the Dueling Club after the Masquerade Ball, who was walking down the hall from the Slytherin common room as well.

"Good morning, Professor Granger," Marielle cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Good morning, Marielle," she purposefully avoided the girl's eye, they were both very clearly walking back from the Slytherin part of the castle early on a Sunday morning as to not be seen. In normal circumstances she'd have to chide her for clearly seeping out of her own dormitory, however that seemed highly hypocritical so she let it slide.

"How was your weekend?" Marielle asked politely.

"Very nice. Lots of grading. And yours?"

"It was relaxing. Fiona and I were able to go to Hogsmeade yesterday, so that was nice," the girl blushed a bit and Hermione quickly followed up on her comment to dispel the awkwardness.

"Did you try the new cafe?" She asked, "I heard it's all the buzz with the students these days."

They chatted casually about Hogsmeade and the new stores that had been opening up in the area until they reached Gryffindor Tower, where Marielle split off towards the portrait of the Fat Lady with a wave and Hermione continued towards the professors' hallway. It seemed as if Marielle wanted to act as if it were perfectly normal for them to run into each other there, so she was sure she wouldn't mention it to anyone else.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

As Draco walked up from the dungeons to meet Harry at the Quidditch Pitch, he thought about their conversation that morning. He knew her intentions were good, but it was ingrained in him to feel like he did. He didn't like being a secret kept separate from the rest of her life, he was too proud for that, and he didn't like the creeping feeling he had that maybe she knew he wasn't good enough for her; that she could do better than a Death Eater. He cared for her more than he was comfortable acknowledging for the amount of time they had actually dated, but it had been building since the beginning of the year. Besides, he'd been honest when he said it was all or nothing with him. He either couldn't care less about someone or he felt incredibly possessive and protective over them; whether friend or significant other. It was a Slytherin trait.

He'd had girls in his life he'd 'dated' that he hadn't paid attention to outside of the basic requirements and needs he had — girls he'd dated at Hogwarts. He'd known then they didn't mean anything to him, but had needed the physical companionship as a means to pass the time. There had also been Pansy, who was a different case. They had dated because it just made sense and it wasn't that he didn't care for her because he did, very much. And he was incredibly protective over her, but they realized eventually that it was, and would always just be, a fierce friendship. He would watch out for her and protect her like family, like Blaise, but they lacked the connection for anything more than that.

And then there was Hermione. She was different than any girl he'd ever dated — ever met, really. She was special. She was unparalleled. She made him feel like a better person and made him want to live life again in a way that he hadn't since the end of his fifth year at Hogwarts. She felt like his reason to keep pushing forward and rebuild everything that he'd lost.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	18. An Unbiased Opinion

**Chapter 18:** An Unbiased Opinion

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Draco and Harry landed softly back on their feet and dismounted their brooms, both breathing heavily. Harry let the snitch in his hand go for a moment as it fluttered its wings before he grabbed it again, "That last one was close," he said.

"Yeah, yeah. Not quite good enough, though."

"You caught it a couple times," Harry clapped him on the back.

"Out of how many, Potter?" He wasn't a good loser and was doing his best to keep his tone joking and not frustrated.

"Out of a few," Harry grinned, "Shall we change and head to Hogsmeade?"

"Yes, I think my ego could go for a nice glass of firewhiskey."

They wandered the path, talking about their classes and students for a bit before they were settled at the Hogs Head with firewhiskey in front of them.

"So Malfoy," Harry cleared his throat a little, he'd wanted to get him alone and away from the castle before talking about what he knew, "I heard you've got some interesting news."

Draco took a sip from his drink as he stared at Harry for a moment before answering, "Granger told me this morning that she'd told you."

"A few weeks ago," he nodded, "I've been wanting to sit and chat but it's been a busy month back."

"Well you've got me here now."

"So what are your intentions?" He asked in a serious tone.

"Very forward question," Draco couldn't help but chuckle a little, "My intentions are to make her happy and show her how a relationship should be; care for her, share experiences with her, all of it."

"For now? For a while? Is this just a physical thing?"

Draco laughed harder this time, "Just digging into it, aren't you, Potter?"

"Someone's got to," he said with the hint of a grin on his face.

"Alright, well…" he tried to find the words to explain how he felt about their situation, "I hope that things progress in the way a relationship should progress. I won't deny the physical part is very nice, but ever since we've gotten to know each other, there's always been a lot more to it than that."

"What do you like about her? About her personality, her likes, dislikes, flaws? The real stuff."

He didn't even have to think about his answer to this one, "She's smart. She's funny in a very non-traditional way; quick and strong. She's opinionated and comfortable in who she is, even if other people are going to disagree with her. She's well read and intellectual; knows too much for her own good, really, and she's... deep. She asks questions people don't usually ask and she fucking… cares. And she doesn't judge you."

It was Harry's turn now to sip his drink and stare at Draco as he considered his passionate response, "Alright, it seems like you do see the real stuff. That's important. She's a special girl."

"Incredibly."

Harry paused another second, "And you're not going to hurt her." It was a statement, not a question this time.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"Wonderful, then you have my approval," Harry's face broke into a broad smile.

"I wasn't aware I was vying for that," Draco said cheekily as he took another drink.

"You never really were but someone's got to play big brother so I'm giving it to you anyway," Harry raised his glass to him as a note of finality on the subject, "So how are you handling keeping things quiet? I don't think I would have known you two were together if she hadn't told me."

"It's been difficult," Draco said simply, "But she says she needs time and I'm doing my best to let her have that. But she knows my feelings on the subject."

The bitter undertone didn't go unnoticed by Harry, "I know it's probably frustrating," he empathized, "I see her side in a way; Ron's going to freak when he finds out and a little distance between them will make it marginally better. And she'll always be one to want to come off as professional in front of her colleagues and students. But I fully see your side as well; it must put a lot of questions into your head about why she wants to wait. And when you're excited about something it's normal to want to scream it from the rooftop."

"Do you think it's the right call to keep it quiet?" Draco looked down into his drink, intrigued by the outside perspective.

"I think a little time was probably a good idea based on the timing. Ron can be a little… ah…"

"Irrational?" Draco cut in.

"Yeah, that's a good word. Irrational," Harry gave an uncomfortable laugh, "But I think there's a point of diminishing returns, you know. It's been a couple months now and I'm not sure what amount of time would be appropriate vs. unnecessary. I certainly lean towards thinking enough time has passed, personally. But it's probably hard to pinpoint that and I'm sure that's all she's trying to decide. I can tell you she's very happy with you, Malfoy and I'm sure she wants it out there as much as you do. If I know Hermione at all, I would guess if you've made your position clear on being ready to put it out there, it's probably heavily on her mind to make that happen."

Draco sighed, "I do hope so. But I said what I needed to say about it and I'm doing my best to let her decide now. Weasley's really going to be an ass about it, isn't he? I keep hoping she's overestimating his reaction for my own public humility."

"He's got a temper," Harry said with a crooked smile, "But he calms down once he processes and talks about things rationally after the fact."

"Well I'm not going to let him make her feel like she's done anything wrong. He didn't treat her right and she deserves someone who does."

"He's still my best mate," Harry said with a wry smile, "He didn't deal with their relationship well, though. He sees that now. They just weren't right for each other and being together brought out the worst in them both. I appreciate that you clearly want this to be something positive for her."

"I'm not sure I'll ever bring out the best in her, either," Draco said, almost surprising himself at his honesty. It was something he'd thrown around in his head but never fully grasped. She obviously brought out the best in him and made him want to be better. But did he do the same for her? He couldn't imagine he did. He couldn't see himself as anything more than a bad influence on a good person.

"I don't think that's fair of you to say," Harry frowned, "She's seemed really happy the last month, freer than she has been in a long time. She smiles and it meets her eyes like it didn't when she was fighting with Ron all the time. And ever since the Dueling Club started she's seemed really involved with the students and her job. She's a wonderful version of herself. Breaking things off with Ron helped, having time to clear her head and refocus on herself helped. But I'm guessing you play a big part in it too."

"I just don't see it the same."

"Malfoy, you've grown and changed and I think you bring a lot more to the table than you give yourself credit for," Harry said seriously, "You've made a great impression on Hermione as well as on the students. I've heard from a lot of them that they really enjoy your classes and the club. Plus, your friendship has meant a lot to me, as well. You commiserate on some of the things about my past that others don't understand, Ron included, and I'm incredibly grateful for that."

"Thanks, Potter," it felt nice to hear someone say those things, "Do you think others will be supportive?"

"If they're not at first, they will be eventually. I think once anyone takes the time to get to know you they'll be perfectly supportive. I consider you a good friend now, I hope you know that."

"Same to you," Draco nodded, "Hopefully they'll give me that chance to prove myself as well."

"How are things with your mother, by the way?" Harry asked, thinking back to their last conversation about how Narcissa had written him and seemed lonely at the manor by herself.

"She spent Christmas with the Parkinsons and I think it helped a lot, actually. They've always been friends but I don't think they realized what she's been going through since I've been gone. When my father was sent to Azkaban she was devastated but we had each other to lean on and it made it a lot easier. I think she finally opened up to them. Difficult thing for her to do; she likes to pretend everything is perfect all the time but I just don't think she can do it anymore if she wants to heal. They've been spending more time with her since then."

"Maybe you should invite her to Hogsmeade one weekend, introduce her to Hermione. Obviously I'd always be willing to come with you as well to see her. I always feel like more faces and more interaction lightens the mood a bit."

"You want to hang out with my mother, Potter?" He joked.

"In a way, she saved my life," Harry shrugged, "If she needs some company right now, I'd be more than willing to spend some time helping you distract her."

"And in a more literal way, you also saved mine," Draco sighed.

"Yeah, you're still paying for that, aren't you, Malfoy," Harry grinned at him.

"At least I get some drinks out of it."

"Have you told her about Hermione yet?"

"Not fully," Draco nodded slowly, "I told her I'm dating someone and she was thrilled. She asked for details and I told her I didn't want to jinx anything and that I'd like them to meet eventually, after a little time. You know, make sure Granger doesn't run away first."

"What do you think she'll say when you blindside her with Hermione?"

"I think deep down she'll be proud. After the war she kept talking about how she wanted to show the Malfoys were progressive and not stuck in the old ways preaching about bloodlines. But I know it will be a shock. We were all there when… well… you remember. At the Manor."

Harry nodded, "Do you still think about it often?"

"It keeps me up at night all the time, Potter," he downed the rest of his drink and set the glass aside, "Especially now that I see the scars from it on a normal basis."

"I'm sure she's told you she doesn't blame you," Harry said, "She's told me that."

"Of course she has," he couldn't look him in the eye right now. Harry was easy to talk to, but it didn't take away the guilt he still felt, "But just because she doesn't blame me doesn't mean that I can't still blame myself. I just sat there…"

"And you would have been killed if you didn't," Harry reasoned.

"I should have taken that chance."

"You wouldn't be here for her now if you had."

"Maybe I was never supposed to be here with her. Maybe she'd have figured out Weasley wasn't for her and moved on with someone better than the likes of a Malfoy," it never took long to get to this dark place when he started thinking about that night at the Manor; about his time as a Death Eater.

"I won't even give that idea a fraction of my time," Harry shook his head, "You've made mistakes. You answered for those mistakes to the Wizengamot. You lied to Bellatrix to save the three of us that night and you didn't want to leave our side during the battle. You can't keep letting the mistakes you made in the beginning outweigh the choices you made in the end. The ones that mattered."

Draco leaned back in his chair and let out a deep breath, "You make it hard to brood, Potter."

"Good," Harry gave him a smug smile and flagged down the bartender for another round.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"In honor of Valentine's day this weekend, we'll be practicing the Jelly-legs jinx," Draco said to the ever-growing members of the Dueling Club on the next Tuesday evening. A scoreboard hovered above the desk at the front of the large theater room showing the monthly dueling score of Professor Malfoy - I vs. Professor Granger - II.

"Something to make you all a bit weak at the knees," Hermione quipped and the students laughed at their teamwork. You could tell the room used to be a theater from the stage at the other end. Where they set up the seven dueling stations clearly used to be the audience seating, which had been removed ages ago by the looks of it.

"It's been a while since we did this one, so everyone should do a quick review of the flashcards at your stations before you dive into it and if you've got questions, we'll be walking around."

The chatter in the room picked up again as everyone split into the group for their year. Now that they had some extra space, they were able to run the groups all at once again.

"Speaking of Valentine's Day," Draco said in a low voice as he raised his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"Are you doing something with someone special?" She asked nonchalantly.

"I was thinking I'd like to," he nodded, "Do you have an international portkey license?"

"Yes, I actually do from my trip to Spain over the summer. It's good for two years."

"Wonderful. I'm going to take you to Paris for the night on Saturday."

Her eyes widened in surprise, "Those portkeys are expensive, Draco."

"I've already bought one so it'd be a shame to waste it," his eyes shined back at her.

"Well I wouldn't want you to feel like you threw the money away," she grinned back, feeling very excited. Paris was one of her favorite cities and seeing it with Draco where they could hold hands and get away from everything for a day sounded like a dream.

"The portkey leaves at 8 in the morning," he winked at her as he pushed away from the desk and wandered off towards the first years who were getting started on their curses and protection charms as she looked after him with a coy smile.

Hermione walked over to the sixth and seventh years, where the matchups had gotten more and more competitive by the meeting. Fiona was attacking against Christian Crabbe, who egged her on as she considered him with a smirk on her face.

"Come on FiFi, give me your best shot. Don't worry, no one's going to laugh when you miss. What are you waiting f—,"

"_Locomotor Wibbly_!" She called and Christian wasn't fast enough to switch gears from jeering to defense to protect himself as it hit him dead on and his legs began to wobble uncontrollably.

Their classmates whooped and whistled as Christian staggered around, Fiona crossing her arms over her chest with a very pleased look on her face. Hermione did her best not to laugh before performing the counter-curse.

"I was going to do it, Professor," Fiona said earnestly, "I just thought he deserved another minute to teach him a good lesson not to be a prat."

"I think you _did_ teach him a good one," Hermione said with a grin as Fiona and Christian crossed the room, Fiona poking him in the stomach a few times as she passed as he laughed and whispered words of warning for their next encounter back to her.

Fiona turned and winked at Marielle who was next in line and smiling back at her, proud to see her take down Christian's ego as much as anyone else. Marielle was up next against Gabriel and gave a great shot that he defended just in time.

Hermione nodded at the group, "Doing great, everyone," and wandered onto the seventh years.

As they left the room that evening after the meeting, Draco threw his arm over her and pulled her close to kiss her head, since it was now after hours and no one would be around to see.

"So are you going to tell me what we're doing in Paris?" She asked, grabbing his hand that was dangling over her shoulder.

"Absolutely not," he said incredulously, "Have you ever been to Wizarding Paris?"

"No," she said with surprise, "I didn't really think about there being a separate part of Paris for the Wizarding World. I've just been to the muggle part. The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame and such."

"I'm not spoiling any of it for you, then, it will be magical," he smiled down at her, even more pleased with his decision now that he knew he'd be able to share a new experience with her, and she sighed.

"You're dramatic sometimes, you know."

"You wouldn't have me any other way."

"It's true," she laughed, "I don't know why, but it's true. Something about your confidence is as endearing as it is annoying."

"That's because it's genuine," he said matter-of-factly.

She leaned her head on his shoulder with an amused eye roll and they continued on their descent from the third floor to the Entrance Hall, talking casually about French food.

As they came to their split that evening, Draco looked down at her with a gleam in his eye. He knew things weren't the easiest for them right now, but every moment he spent talking, bantering, touching, this girl, the world felt more right than he'd thought was possible for his life. He felt an impulse in that moment to let three more words escape his thoughts, an impulse that seemed amplified each time they locked eyes. And a part of him wanted them to come out; wanted to let go of every inhibition he had as a Malfoy to keep his feelings locked away and guarded and utter those words. But he had to know she felt the same and with her hesitation to let their secret out to the world, the timing and the moment weren't quite right. And for that reason, he held the words inside; not stifling them, just keeping them in his own mind to feel and embrace until another time when he either found the perfect moment, or they pushed themselves out on their own.

He leaned down and kissed her soundly, squeezing her hand a little tighter before he let her go, "See you tomorrow, Granger," he said with a grin.

"See you tomorrow." The look in his eyes made butterflies jump in her stomach like a schoolgirl. It was a feeling only he could give her; A feeling of excitement and passion and adoration for the man looking back at her. A feeling she loved.

As she walked back to her room that evening, she started considering how she would tell her friends. She'd taken time to reflect on her conversation with Draco and came to the conclusion that she didn't want to wait another month. She wanted it to be sooner. So they could live in the open and he could see she was serious about him. Because she was. She just also had those lingering hesitations along with a growing feeling of guilt that she held towards both Ron and Draco. She had a complex of always trying to do things the right way, but the fact of the matter was that life just wasn't that simple. Sometimes there are multiple right or wrong ways to do something. And although giving her relationship with Ron space from the announcement of this one felt right in some regards, in another, being honest about everything felt more right. Something that had clicked after listening to Draco and realizing how it was affecting him.

She wished she'd broken things off with Ron years ago so she could have avoided the internal debate. But she hadn't, and like Draco had said, she couldn't live her life around others. Life had happened; they'd connected, the feelings had grown and she wanted to be with Draco. Wanted to experience life together. She just had to determine how she would tell them. She'd give herself time just to decide on that. A week maybe, no longer, and then she'd face her fears head on and this would all be behind them. Her mind was set and the beginning of their future together was finally on the horizon.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	19. From Paris

**Chapter 19:** From Paris

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The week crawled by as Hermione's excitement for the weekend pulled at her thoughts each day. She'd done some thinking about how to sit down with her friends and explain the situation. She'd decided she wanted to do it with Draco, Harry, Ginny and Ron in someone's room. An intimate enough setting to let Ron freak out if he was going to without Draco having to hear it around a larger group. She would do it next weekend by telling Harry about her plan to get him on board, inviting them all to hang out and bringing Draco with her to make the announcement. And then this would all be behind them and whatever was to come would come.

Once she had told those closest to her, she would be honest about it with whoever else she found herself around and then the following Monday morning, she and Draco could just walk into the Great Hall holding hands and word would spread naturally. Enough people would know by that time that hopefully the lack of reaction from the professors would lessen the reactions from the students. It felt like a good plan and although she was still a tiny bit nervous, she would stick to it.

But it was finally Saturday morning and she was in her room, gathering her bag and her coat to wander down to the gates for their portkey to Paris. She hoped it was early enough not to run into anyone in the halls because as she racked her brain, she realized she hadn't come up with any kind of excuse. She shrugged, she'd improvise if she had to. It wouldn't matter much longer anyway as she could tell them all about Paris in just a week's time.

Hermione left her room, her cloak swishing around her as she walked quickly down the stairs, across the entrance hall and out the door. By the time she reached the large tree outside the gates, she was a bit out of breath. She leaned against the tree to wait as she took a few deep breaths.

"Did you sprint down here?" Draco's smooth voice cut through her breathing counts.

"A little excited for the weekend I guess," she replied as he wrapped his arms around her waist and her hands slithered up his chest.

"Good, because I've got quite the day planned," he grinned, leaning down to kiss her before he pulled a broken chess piece out of his pocket and held it out in his hand, "If you'll grab onto our portkey with me, we'll be off in a moment."

Hermione covered his hand with hers so they were both grasping the portkey and smiled up at him. After a few seconds the chess piece vibrated and a pull behind their bellybuttons whisked them away to France.

They landed on their feet in an alley off a main road in muggle Paris, cars bustling along off in the distance.

"So where do we go from here?" She asked, grabbing his hand to let him lead the way.

"Montmartre," he said coyly, squeezing her hand and feeling his entire body relax at their ability to be themselves for the day as he turned and started down the street.

"And what will we do in Montmartre?"

"It's a surprise, of course, but I figured we'd start with breakfast."

A few streets down the main road, Draco veered off towards a set of stairs to a park below and Hermione followed. On the first landing, a large, bronze statue of a lady sat against the railing and Draco leaned against it as she furrowed her brow at his choice in rest stop. He smirked, pulling her towards him as they both slipped through the statue and Hermione gasped inaudibly at the change in atmosphere. They had clearly entered the wizarding part of Paris and magic filled the air once again as clothes danced in the storefronts and small fireworks erupted over the fountain in the town center.

"Welcome to Montmartre," Draco said nonchalantly, his eyes twinkling as she took it all in.

"It's like Diagon Alley if Diagon Alley was centered around fashion and food," she said in awe. The witches and wizards wandering about were all dressed suavely, emitting an air of coolness and confidence that she'd learned all too well of the French on prior visits.

Draco pulled her hand gently, "Shall we?"

She nodded, still looking around at all of the sights.

After another block, Draco turned and led her down a side street where the sign for a cafe hovered with the words _L' Abri_ scrawled across it, its presence understated as compared to the shops on the main road. He opened the door for her, ushering her into the welcoming atmosphere of the small establishment, which was furnished with an array of private tables and antique fixtures. A fire crackled in the corner and the air was filled with a hum of conversation from the patrons scattered about. It felt warm and inviting and she looked around with a smile on her face as she chose a table by the fireplace and settled into an oversized red armchair.

"This is where I like to come for a quiet afternoon by myself," Draco said, "I actually came down here one weekend at the end of September when I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by being back at Hogwarts."

"It's very quaint," Hermione gave him a soft smile, "A little different than The Alchemist Den."

"There's more to me than my social status, Granger," he said matter-of-factly, covering her hand that was resting on the table with his.

"I thought there may be a reason I liked you other than your looks."

"Bonjour, qu'est-ce que vous voulez boire?" A very short and round older witch bustled over to them.

Hermione opened her mouth to respond, being quite proficient in French, but Draco beat her to it, "Deux cappuccinos, s'il vous plaît."

Hermione whipped her head around to him as the witch nodded and walked back behind the counter.

"And you know French," Hermione noted with a hint of surprise.

"I feel like you really don't give me enough credit," he said with a bit of indignation as he sat back in his chair.

"Perhaps I didn't," she said thoughtfully, clasping her hands on the table, "Where did you learn French?"

"I had a private tutor as a child growing up, mother always told me the earlier you learn it, the more it sticks."

"Just French? Anything else?"

"German, Russian and Spanish," he said with a cocky grin.

"I'm impressed," she admitted, "Different cultures are a beautiful thing to study."

"Yes, I appreciate it now. At the time I whined about the lessons quite often."

"I'm sure you did," she said cheekily before straightening up a little in her chair, preparing to ask more about his childhood; a conversation he always tried to avoid, "What was it like growing up with Narcissa and Lucius?"

He let a long breath out of his nose, the look in his eyes weary, but unguarded, "Proper," he finally said, "Structured," he knew she just wanted to understand and he wanted to have this transparency with her.

Hermione nodded, happy she was pulling something from him on the subject, "Okay, unpack that a bit for me."

The waitress returned with their cappuccinos, placing one in front of each of them.

"Merci," Draco and Hermione both said to her as she nodded with a smile and walked over to the next table.

Draco tipped a bit of sugar into his cappuccino and stirred it slowly, buying himself time and Hermione waited patiently. He finally tapped his spoon on the side of the cup a couple of times and placed it on his napkin before meeting her gaze again.

"My life growing up was very structured in the way that it was pre-planned out for me," he said again, "There were things I was expected to learn at certain ages. Languages, riding a broom, ballroom dancing, reading at a certain level," he paused for a moment before continuing with a determined tone in his voice, he needed her to see all of him if they were going to walk down this road; he needed to be able to let her into his past. Even if that included parts of his life he wasn't as proud of, "Learning about the dark arts, accepting the dark arts, learning about the importance of bloodlines, joining the Death Eaters…" he let the explanation trail off, "My father had a vision of what my life would be and he set me on that track and didn't allow me to divert. At least that's how it felt in my mind. We didn't talk about feelings or how our day went at the dinner table or anything like that, our interactions were always just very… proper.

"I learned to turn off my emotions at an early age because my father called it nonsense when I would get upset or question him. He had a demeanor of power about him and it wasn't something I wanted to oppose. As I was growing up, I almost idolized him for how he carried himself so confidently and surely. I envied his power around others and his seemingly respectable status in the wizarding world. That was another reason I didn't question his methods. I thought I wanted to be just like him. Before I saw it all for what it was."

"And your mother?" She knew it wasn't easy for him to talk about, but she wanted them to have the openness in their relationship to bring up the hard stuff too. To know how to talk things out and grow together. Whether past or present struggles.

"She loves my father," he sighed, relaxing into the conversation as he recognized her tone as supportive, not judgmental, and her engagement as caring, rather than prying, "She supported him through everything and she will stand by his side until his last day so she did things how he expected them done. However when it was just her and I alone, without his influence, things felt less forced. She has a warm presence that gets overshadowed by my father's coldness. She wants me to be happy, at the root of it, so she'd hug me tightly before bed and tell me good job when I excelled at something. Words of affirmation I didn't get from my father.

"It's not that he didn't care about me, of course. We were a family and family is everything to a Malfoy. In his mind, everything he was doing was for us. To protect us; to hand down our status and respect for me to carry on. To give my mother a luxurious life. And don't get me wrong, he was very proud of my accomplishments and he loved my mother and I very much. We just didn't _talk_ about it and it didn't change the fact that we did things his way."

"How do you feel about him being in Azkaban?" She asked with honest curiosity, bringing her mug to her lips.

He shrugged, "It's where he should be. It will make my mother happy when he gets out and maybe he will have learned something. He did walk away with us in the end because he realized my mother and I were done with it and that he was fighting a losing battle. He'd lost the respect of the wizarding world and he'd lost his status in the Death Eaters.

"We'd asked him to walk away from it all some time during sixth year when the gravity of my task had set in and I realized I wanted no part of it. But he wouldn't hear it because he thought his status in the Death Eaters was all we had left after he'd been arrested fifth year and he was scared of what would happen if we tried to leave. It's why I tried to see the task through that year. I thought it was Dumbledore or my family. Not that it makes it okay. I started to lower my wand when Dumbledore said he could protect us. I thought maybe it's what I needed to finally get my father to leave their side. But it was too late and the other Death Eaters showed up."

"But you _did_ all stop fighting in the end," Hermione noted, thinking back to the end of the Battle of Hogwarts, "I saw you together in the Great Hall, huddled in a corner before Harry finally faced Voldemort. It was clear you'd withdrawn."

Draco nodded, "We were talking about if we should join the fight on the side of the Order or run. But then the final showdown happened and for better or worse, we didn't have to make the decision. You see, by the Battle of Hogwarts, Lucius was only still in the Death Eaters to protect our family and when the fight began and I disappeared to find Potter, my mother begged him to walk away from it all if they found me still alive. Told him the life we were living wasn't one she'd ever wanted for her family. There was nothing left for him to feel he was fighting for besides giving my mother and I a better life and he finally gave in and agreed to walk away, whether the Dark Lord won or lost. He kept his word when we found each other again that night. I'll always be grateful to him for that. But right now, I think Azkaban is where he deserves to be for the things he did when he was a part of it all. He won't be there much longer anyway."

"That's right," she said as realization dawned on her, "He's set for release this summer, isn't he?" It was something she'd never imagined impacting her personal life.

Draco nodded, their eyes meeting in understanding.

"Which means, if we're together, you'll likely have to figure out how to break the news to him, as well as your mother," her voice held hesitance as she digested that.

He scoffed lightly, "What do you mean 'if' Granger?"

She chuckled lightly at his reaction, "Just a figure of speech. Have to keep you on your toes."

"I anticipate it being a conversation I'll have to have with them both," he said definitively, "And they will have to deal with it."

"But he won't be happy."

"No, he won't be happy," Draco agreed, "But I _am_ happy and it's _his_ reputation I've spent the last five years of my life trying to distance myself from so he'll have to find a way to come to terms with it. I won't let him come in between us."

Hermione took another sip of her cappuccino, setting the mug down slowly, "So are you planning on introducing me to your mother before that?"

"Yes," he said, clearing his throat a bit, "I was actually thinking I'd invite her to Hogsmeade soon for lunch and I'd like for you to join us."

Hermione nodded, "Alright, I know it'll be difficult, but I do think it makes sense to have the introductions with her before your father returns and his opinion impacts her reaction."

"That was my thought process as well, however," his features were determined, "Before you meet her, I'd like it to be out in the open that we're together. To everyone else at Hogwarts."

Hermione smiled softly, she was planning to surprise him next week with her decision to tell her friend together, "Alright, that's fair."

"Alright. Once that happens, I'll send her an owl and we can set something up then."

"Que voudriez-vous manger?" The waitress had returned for their order.

They each picked a pastry from the list and she bustled off again towards the kitchens.

"So what are The Grangers like?" Draco changed the subject before the conversation returned to his parents.

"My parents are lovely. They're both dentists so they tend to people's teeth," she began, accepting that he'd said all he had in him on the prior discussion. She was sure he understood that these conversations helped to give her more context on his life and his choices, but she did truly believe that unlocking some of the things he tried to keep bottled up must be a bit therapeutic for him as well in some capacity.

"In… what way do they tend to teeth?" Draco looked very confused.

"So, in the muggle world there aren't charms to clean teeth or make them straighter," she explained, "My parents take patients, like a healer would, and make sure their teeth are properly cared for to keep them healthy."

"What would happen if they didn't go to a... dentist did you call it?"

"Yes," she chuckled, "Well, if they didn't properly deep clean their own teeth, they could get infections or cavities, their teeth could degenerate early and cause all sorts of problems."

"That sounds terrible," Draco said, thinking about his own pristine set of teeth.

"It is," she nodded, "So that's what they do. And growing up with them was calm. They liked their routines and I liked routines too. They always said I was much too mature for my age."

"You were," he grinned.

She shot him a fake smile and continued, "But we would always eat dinner together and I would just rattle on about whatever I was reading about in the book of the week. We played cards and board games. Went on camping trips and visited new countries on school breaks."

"And every once in a while you'd accidentlally vanish a window or two and leave everyone perplexed," he said smartly.

Hermione laughed, "Yes, just to keep things interesting. You know, once on a camping trip I remember I was so excited about a book I was reading that I was very animatedly trying to explain it to my parents and at one point I jumped up as I revealed the climax and the campfire in front of us just suddenly burst back to life as it was dying off and my father looked at me and laughed saying, _Seems like even the fire was entranced by your story_."

"You do have a certain charm about you when you're talking about books."

"A trait I likely got from my mother. She was always enthralled with reading and learning as well. She resolved to read to me every night until I learned to read myself and she said one day I just started reading out loud along with her."

"That sounds like a nice childhood," Draco said sincerely, wondering what an upbringing like that would have been like; how it would have impacted the choices he'd made.

"It was," she smiled, "It'll be nice to introduce you to them as well. They love embracing my world when they have the chance."

It made him very happy to hear she thought about bringing him further into her life. "I'll look forward to that," he returned her smiled, "So after this I'll be taking you to my favorite art museum,"

"That sounds wonderful! I'd be very intrigued to see what a wizarding art museum would hold."

"We actually sold a piece to this museum a while back. I'll show you that one specifically, it isn't the most interesting piece in the place, but it's got a lot of history in it."

"You sold a piece to a museum?" She laughed, "I'll certainly have to see that then."

"You said there was a popular muggle museum in Paris too, didn't you?" Draco asked, "What's that one like?"

The waitress returned with their pastries and they settled in as Hermione told him about some of the artists highlighted in the Louvre and her favorite pieces. It was an absolute shock to her that artists like da Vinci and Michelangelo were not household names in the Wizarding World.

"So do you own anything by this Michelangelo, then?" Draco asked with intrigue, wondering if he'd be able to see what was so exciting.

"Do I own a Michelangelo?" She asked incredulously, "No, Draco, I don't own a Michelangelo. That would be millions of pounds — millions of galleons even. Maybe I'll take you to the Louvre one day and I can show you there."

Draco considered that, "Well that would definitely be a new experience. I know virtually nothing about the muggle world."

"You'll learn," she said confidently, "There's some fascinating stuff in the muggle world too."

"I'm sure there is, Granger," he tried to be optimistic about it, despite what he was brought up to believe.

She gave a soft laugh and paused, "Can I ask you something?"

Draco nodded as he took a bite of his pumpkin pasty.

"Why is it that you wanted me to call you Draco and you still get to call me Granger?"

"Well…" he tried to decide how to answer her, "First and foremost, I just very much enjoy hearing my name come from your lips," his voice was low and their eyes locked in that magnetic way that made her cheeks flush, but she had a feeling there was more, "But also," he cleared his throat, "I wanted to distance myself from what you associated with the name Malfoy. I wanted to be someone new for you if we were going to start a romantic relationship. Like a new title to the next chapter in a book. Something that shifts the tone."

Hermione considered his response thoughtfully, "I'd already removed you from the boy you used to be by that point, though."

"You may have, but the way you used to think of me, as Malfoy, was just something I wanted to completely remove_ myself_ from. I wanted to be Draco. Someone new, someone deserving, someone with a different path. I know it doesn't really change anything, but I think I attach a stigma to my own last name now. I know what being a Malfoy means. And I'm still a Malfoy, and I hope one day I'll bring some respect back to that name, but to you, I wanted to be Draco."

Her chest pulled tight listening to his explanation. They were words of a man who'd been broken and was trying his hardest to put himself back together. They told a story of regret and guilt, but also hope; hope for a second chance. Together. She reached out and squeezed his hand again and they shared an understanding smile. His hands were warm and she had a feeling they'd entered difficult-conversation territory again, so she tried to make her next question a bit more airy.

"And what of you sticking with calling me Granger?"

"Well you've always been quite wonderful just the way you are," he said in a tone of blatant flattery and she laughed.

"Certainly not what you thought of me back then, either."

"Oh I knew you were special, even then, even if I was a brat. But I didn't like that you got better grades; My father had told me muggleborns weren't as gifted as purebloods so it drove me mad that you beat me in every class. And you were best friends with Potter, who rejected my friendship the first day of school and you were always here to defend him. Not to mention you were the only one who snapped back at me when I made the pompous comments that I did. You got to me for the same reasons that you do now, I just see them in a completely different light. I love how brilliant you are, something that challenges me. I love what an unwavering friend you are and how deeply you care for those close to you and I am very thankful to be one of those people now. And I love the fierce wit that you take on life with," he paused, his lip curling up as he took her in again, "So you see, Granger still fits perfectly. I see you exactly the same in a completely different light."

Hermione tried her best to find her words, but her throat felt a bit tight now as she looked back at him, "Well I guess I have a few more reasons to enjoy hearing you call me that then."

"Do you like it? Or do you wish I called you Hermione?"

She felt a slight chill run down her arm as she realized it was the first time she'd ever even heard him say her name, and she thought for a moment, "I do like that… but Granger feels oddly right, actually."

"Wonderful, then I'm sticking with Granger until I find a reason to call you something else," he gave her an almost unnoticeable wink before he grabbed his napkin, wiping the crumbs from his hands, and changing the subject before she had a chance to think on his comment too much, "Shall we get on to Musée Fantaisiste?"

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N:** So this is one of those chapters that I wrote and it was kind of long… and then as I went back and edited and edited again, and again I just kept adding even more to the point where I decided to split it into two chapters. So thus, "From Paris, With Love" turned into a two part Valentine's Day spectacular starting with Part I, "From Paris". "With Love" coming soon.

On a separate note, apologies for the delay in this chapter, I had a death in the family and had to travel back east for a few days before turning around to head back west for a pre-planned vacation. Life happens out of our control sometimes. It's a good reminder to hug those close to you whenever you get the chance. Thank you for being patient, next chapter is just being edited and will post soon! Xx

Thank you so much for all of your reviews, they really do mean a lot to me :)

ThatRandomPanda — I wanted to give you a quick response to your question on the Bones family! Unfortunately the simple answer is that this is something I overlooked. I always remembered the death of Amelia Bones (Susan's aunt), but totally forgot the mention of the deaths of the majority of Susan's family until I googled it after reading your review. If I ever have a chance to go back and edit this story in full after it's finished, I'll likely switch out Susan for another student to keep things as canon as I can! Thanks for taking the time to review.

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	20. With Love

**Chapter 20:** With Love

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

They paid for their breakfast and left the small cafe, meandering the cobblestone streets of Montmartre through the slowly increasing groups of shoppers until they reached a large, old stone building that Draco directed her into. The entranceway was grand, brown marble stretching across the floors, and pillars leading up to the reception desk.

"Private tour for Malfoy," Draco said as he approached and Hermione shot him a weary look that he ignored.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy," the tall, beautiful French witch in front of them drawled, "Welcome into Musée Fantaisiste. We've set your tour to begin in the east wing of the museum and you can follow the prompts at each exit to direct you to your next stop."

"Wonderful," Draco nodded, handing over a satchel of galleons that she took, placing it under the desk, before handing him over three small coins.

"Enjoy your visit, Mr. Malfoy."

They walked back towards the main entrance to the exhibits and he grabbed Hermione's hand, smiling over at her, "The private tour is self-guided, they just direct you to rooms that they've cleared out so you can enjoy them privately; Thirty minutes in each room. I thought about just renting the place out for the day, but I had a feeling you'd scoff at that."

"I certainly would have," she agreed, "But this sounds like a romantic afternoon you have planned, so I won't object to the private tour."

They walked into the first exhibit in the east wing and Hermione stopped in her tracks, mouth parting slightly in awe. Draco looked around the room before his eyes landed on her reaction, "_This_ is a wizarding museum," he said simply.

"It's… spectacular," she breathed. There were sculptures lining the room, intricate, carved sculptures, some in full color and painted clothing. They each seemed to have a certain personality of their original subject and each one was alluring in its own way.

She moved to inspect the one closest to her: a centaur carved from white stone, tail wagging valiantly behind him as he stomped his hooves against the base of the sculpture. His eyes blinked and its neck craned as if looking around the room, but it was clear nothing lay behind the eyes.

"This piece is called _Gideon_. He was a mythical centaur in wizard folklore that usually represented wrath or pride."

"The movements are so realistic," she said, walking to the side to watch the tail move back and forth."

"Yes, there are some really impressive charms that sculptors use," he said, looking at her with amusement, "If this has caught your attention so thoroughly, we may be at this museum all day."

"Sorry, I know there's a lot to see," she smiled apologetically at him, "This is just really interesting magic. We don't learn much about art-related magic at school, and I mean I've read about it, of course, but seeing it in person is enthralling. The level of detail…" she moved on to the next sculpture, a mermaid, hair floating crazily in the air as if it were under water, eyes burning in the direction of whoever looked at it, "It's just uncanny."

His lip curled up as he watched her take it all in. He'd always loved art and history, not that he'd have ever told his friends that, but sharing this with her felt meaningful. He walked behind her, his arm wrapping around her waist as he told her a bit about the piece.

They moved through the sculpture hall discussing the pieces and guessing which charms they thought may have been used, (which they planned to research later to see who was right), before Draco inserted the coin into a hole at the exit, which flashed _North Wing_, and they apparated to their next room.

They wandered the impressionist paintings in the North Wing as a blur of colors swirled in front of them, sometimes pausing to discuss what a certain painting was trying to convey. Hermione found this section to be the most like a muggle art museum. Yes, the pictures moved, but the art felt very similar, otherwise.

They moved on to the West Wing where they meandered the portraits of famous witches and wizards, Hermione trying her hardest not to give Draco a full dissertation on some of the historic figures she'd read about in books, though when she did start to go into detail about some of their lesser known accomplishments, she was pleased to find him engaged in the conversation as opposed to bored or lost. She did sometimes forget that he spent a good amount of his time reading, as she did.

After the West Wing, they came upon the last exhibition of the museum in the South Wing: ancient tapestries from around the world.

"Ah, here it is," Draco gestured her to one on the right side of the room, "My great great grandfather acquired this a long time ago from the original descendants," Hermione's eyes skimmed the heading on the tapestry _The Span of Slytherin_, "The family was very poor and he purchased it off of them for however many galleons he was carrying at the time. I think the man would have taken anything. But anyway, it's a mapping of how the descendants of Slytherin evolved through history, tracking from Salazar to the Gaunts, who we purchased it from. Obviously we acquired it before the Dark Lord's name had ever been added to it, but this version ends at Marvolo, his grandfather. You can see how the descendants spread through the world, which I always thought was interesting."

It spanned half the wall and depicted an outline of the continents with names and connecting lines that could be made out from the fading text. It reminded her a bit of the Black family tapestry from Grimmauld place, though instead of a family tree, it was an interconnected world map. The tapestry had an air of haunting intrigue to it; The captivating depth of wizarding history emulating from every inch of the sprawling piece, matched by the haughty undertone of the importance of their blood purity.

"You owned this in your home?" She asked.

"Yes, it was hanging over the fireplace in the main dining room. It's where we hosted the most people and father liked for it to be in eye sight of our guests whenever possible."

"Why did you sell it to the museum?"

"The Ministry seemed to think it held some kind of curse of dark magic," he shrugged, "I'm not sure if it's true or if they just wanted to rid our house of as much of our prized possessions as they could, but it did always give me an eerie feeling. They told us we could either sell it as a historic artifact to a museum that would keep it behind enchanted glass, or we would have to destroy it. Father liked the idea of telling people we'd sold an artifact to a museum so he took that route."

"It's a piece of history," Hermione said, almost entranced by it, the odd urge to reach out and touch it making her fingers tingle. It looked ancient, as though the first name had been added to it and it had been passed down through the generations, adding names and connecting lines as it went until it was apprehended by the Malfoys.

"I wouldn't look at it too long," Draco said, "Whether it's dark magic or not, there's definitely an unsettling aura around it. I wasn't sad to see it leave the manor."

She felt chills up her spine at the mention of the manor but batted the feelings down as she tore her eyes from the tapestry.

Draco led her on to some of the other historic tapestries on the walls until they came to the exit and returned to the entrance hall where the receptionist wished them a good day.

From the museum Draco walked her through the streets of shops, pointing out some of his favorites, before they ate lunch and moved on to a small bookshop on the edge of town. The books were antiques, ranging from children's stories to biographies to novels. They had settled into some small armchairs at the back of the store and flipped through the different books, pausing every once in a while to discuss something they'd read.

"Did you know they think they've found a thirteenth use for Dragon's blood?" Draco quipped as he lowered a book titled _Twelve and Counting._

"I did not. Are you reading about potions on your off time?" she asked slyly.

"You've no idea the amount of time I've spent reading potions books. I find it all quite enthralling," he responded airily, lifting the book back to keep reading.

"So what's the thirteenth use they're working on? Are you going to leave me on a cliffhanger?"

"In about a hundred and fifty pages, I'll let you know," he winked over the top of the book and she laughed.

"Looking forward to hearing about it over dinner, then."

Eventually the store owner had to politely let them know he'd be closing up shop soon and they picked out a few books to purchase as they thanked him.

They'd checked into their overly priced hotel overlooking the streets of Montmartre and changed for a beautiful dinner Draco had made reservations for at a swanky restaurant next door. They'd returned to the hotel that night, exhausted from their explorations.

They collapsed on the bed, Hermione sighing contentedly, "What a whirlwind day."

"A good one, I hope," he turned his head towards her with a grin.

"A _wonderful_ whirlwind day," she specified.

Draco rolled onto his side, pulling her close as their bodies pressed together, "I've learned that I quite enjoy sharing new experiences with you," he said with a smug sincerity in his voice.

"I quite enjoy you being my personal tour guide," she leaned up and kissed him softly, "There's still a lot in wizarding culture I haven't been exposed to, spending the majority of my life as a witch inside the walls of Hogwarts."

"Well then lucky for you, I've got plenty more of these kinds of trips up my sleeve," he kissed her again and their lips locked on each other for a moment before he pulled back to look at her, hair sprawled across the pillow and her lips still slightly parted. He grinned, closing his eyes and leaning back down to her, their lips brushing against each other a few times as they embraced the comfortable silence around them. He felt her relaxing into him and had a feeling he may have planned too many activities to take full advantage of their penthouse suite, "Are you tired?" He asked quietly after a few minutes.

"Mmmhmm," she murmured back against his lips, "But it's your fault."

He gave a faux-huff, "I know it is."

"Thank you for everything today, Draco," her eyes met his with an endearing look, "I can tell you put a lot of effort into planning it out."

He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "It took less effort than you'd think, actually," she cocked an eyebrow at his statement and he laughed, "I just mean It was quite easy to think of all the places I wanted to enjoy with you."

"I'm sure this hotel room was on the list of things you wanted to enjoy together," she said suggestively.

"It certainly was, but there's always the morning," his lip curled up knowingly and he ran his fingers softly through her hair, "I can tell you're exhausted."

"Never too tired to enjoy the end of the evening with you," she leaned up and placed a lingering kiss on his lips. She'd been looking forward to this part as much as the rest of it and she would not let a little fatigue end it early.

He let a dark chuckle emit from his throat as she lay her head back again. He looked at her, cheeks flushed, lips pursed in the most taunting way, eyes heavy, either from sleepiness or lust, or some mix of the two, "I'm going to give you one more chance to tell me you're tired and I'll roll right back over and let you have your rest," he offered her, hand gripping her hip lightly, waiting to be given the final word on the matter.

"I'd like to enjoy this hotel room a bit longer," she said with a mischievous grin that he had to admit he truly adored on her.

"Alright, well it's been a long day, so how about you relax and close your eyes," he said in a low voice as he leaned down closer to her, "And I'll… see if I can help you energize a bit."

She did as she was told, letting her eyes close and taking a slow breath in through her nose as she felt him reposition himself over her. She could sense his movements as his breath became warm on her skin and his lips connected with her neck. It was too soft though and her heart rate started to awaken, wanting more. He finally pressed his lips more firmly against her collarbone and she sighed, feeling his soft kisses moving down her arm as goosebumps formed in their wake. No part of her wanted to move a single inch in that moment as the kisses turned course back up towards her shoulder and across to her neck. She couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips as teeth scraped gently over her skin and her breath caught in her throat.

"Are you waking up a bit now?" the vibrations against her made her swallow hard and she couldn't find the words to respond so she just nodded.

His lips trailed up to the bottom of her ear where they paused to pull on her earlobe. Her head tilted slightly into him and she felt the smirk against her neck as his lips returned to it. He continued on to her jaw line, each kiss raising her temperature within another degree. When his lips finally reached hers she didn't hesitate to give them a warm welcome before parting for his tongue to meet hers.

Her hand moved to the side of his face, his skin smooth under hers as she brushed her fingers along it. She sunk deeper into their plush bed as he came back over her and her hand tangled into his hair. His lips left hers as she huffed lightly, and moved down the other side of her neck and south towards her chest. She felt the bed dip as he moved with his kisses, which felt deliberately slow and calculated. She shivered as he grazed softly over her stomach.

"Look at me, Granger," his words teased her in a low voice.

She fluttered her eyes open, noticing her breathing had gotten heavier, before she tilted her head down at him.

His lip curled into a grin, "Just making sure you weren't falling asleep," and he returned to planting kisses down her body as she let her head roll pleasantly back against the soft pillows again, admiring the gold painted molding on the ceiling above as his lips found her inner thigh. Her eyes closed again as she sighed contentedly, quite happy to be in Paris with Draco in a lavish hotel room that they had all to themselves.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

As they lay in bed later that evening, her head resting on his shoulder, she acknowledged how crazy it was to her that even without sex, the intimacy with Draco was everything she could imagine she'd want in her personal idea of romance. She knew he was waiting for the right moment to let things go all the way and she'd thought maybe it would be tonight, in Paris, but she had a feeling he would tell her when the time felt right and she'd feel it too. For now, however, she was more than completely satisfied in her dazed state of happiness. Her arm snaked over his chest lazily as they settled in, even more tired than when they'd arrived back to their hotel that evening.

He kissed the top of her head and covered her hand with his with a very content sigh and a plastered smile on his face, "I have a feeling we'll sleep well tonight," he murmured.

"So very well," she looked up and they shared a grin before he leaned down for one more kiss.

"Sweet dreams, Granger."

"Goodnight, Draco," she whispered back as three more words popped into her subconscious. She may not have registered them fully, but they were starting to make an appearance in the back of her mind more often and it was simply a matter of time before she acknowledged them. With a peaceful hum, her mind blanked into blissful sleep.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N:** It's been a crazy few weeks. Hope everyone is staying healthy & safe.


	21. Viktor

**Chapter 21**: Viktor

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Hermione where did you get off to this weekend?" Ginny asked as their plates filled with food Sunday evening.

"Oh, ah," she hadn't remembered to think of a good excuse for her absence since the trip had come about so last minute, "I went to visit a friend for the day on Saturday." She didn't feel too bad about the coverup as she knew in a week's time she'd have told them all about her relationship with Draco and once that was settled, she could tell Ginny all about their weekend in Paris when she was ready to girl talk. This was no big deal.

"Oh?" Ginny asked with interest, "Who?"

She could sense Draco on the other side of her listening closely but she couldn't think of anyone else in the moment that Ginny wouldn't follow up with, "Viktor."

"You went to see _Viktor_ for the day on _Valentine's Day_?" Ginny asked with a grin on her face, "I thought maybe you'd just gone to see your parents or something, get away from Ron for Valentine's weekend."

_That would have been a better excuse,_ Hermione thought, "Ah, we just didn't realize what weekend it was," she said as nonchalantly as she could. She could hear Draco cutting into his pork rather roughly now and realized she hadn't chosen the best words. On the contrary, she'd likely chosen the worst words. She cursed inwardly, she knew, herself, what her plan was, but she hadn't told Draco yet. He didn't know how close this all was to being over and how insignificant this little coverup was _supposed_ to be. Any probably _would_ have been if she'd just said her parents.

"Mmhmm," Ginny responded, "Just happened to fall on the holiday."

"It did, truly," Hermione tried to make it sound more legitimate as her mind reeled around her options, "He'd written months ago asking if there was a good weekend for me to visit and I just thought mid-February was good timing given the class and exam schedule after the holidays."

"Whatever you say," Ginny was still grinning.

"Malfoy, how was your weekend?" Harry cut in, trying to change the subject.

"Fine. Visited my mother at the Manor," he said curtly, "However I'm quite full, I'm going back to my room. See you all later."

Hermione turned her head towards him, trying to figure out what to say to get him to stay but the words didn't come quick enough and he'd already gotten up and left the table. She and Harry watched as he walked away as Ginny tilted her head at him.

"He's odd sometimes," she noted, "I know you two are friends with him, but that was an odd exit."

"He's probably just got something on his mind," Hermione shared a glance with Harry before she turned back to her plate of food, now deciding how best to rectify the situation she'd created.

"So is Viktor still with his girlfriend?" Ginny asked, her voice full of intrigue again.

"No, he's actually not," Hermione said halfheartedly. They had broken up a few months ago.

"Interesting," Ginny said as she popped a salt potato into her mouth.

"There's nothing going on between Viktor and I," she sighed, she hadn't meant for it to go this far and she certainly hadn't meant to offend Draco in the process. She was just supposed to come up with something little to cover her tracks and they were supposed to accept it until she was ready to give the full truth in just a few days time. But she'd elaborated too much and now it just felt like a real lie. A real, unnecessary, lie. "Look, Ginny," she lowered her voice as she leaned across Harry, pausing briefly to peer around Ginny, where Luna was sitting, but she was deep in conversation with Neville about their trip to Wales, "I wasn't with Viktor this weekend. I was with Malfoy."

Ginny froze mid-chew, her eyes widening before she shook her head and swallowed her potato. She set down her silverware and leaned her arms on the table to come in closer to Hermione as Harry sat back in his chair looking between the two, "In what way were you _with Malfoy_?"

"We were… away for Valentine's Day."

"Where?"

"In Paris."

"In _what_?!" The words came out in a hiss, though her tone registered more as shock than anger.

"Can we take this conversation elsewhere?" Hermione asked, realizing how odd it probably looked whispering to each other across Harry.

Ginny leaned back, still trying to process what was being said before she stood and Hermione and Harry followed her from the Great Hall.

Once they were alone in the nearest empty classroom, Hermione shut the door and turned to face Ginny, "I'm dating Malfoy," she said simply, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner and I'm sorry I lied when you asked where I was this weekend. I haven't wanted to tell anyone yet to put some space between Ron and I. And tonight when you asked where I'd been, it didn't feel like lying because I'd made the decision that I was going to tell you all next weekend, together. But I took it too far and I realized it was just that. I lied to you and I'm sorry."

Ginny looked flabbergasted, "Why doesn't Harry look surprised?!"

"Because I knew," Harry said looking a bit sheepish, knowing he'd get an earful for it, "I told her I'd keep it to myself til she was ready."

"How long have you been dating?"

"Since a week into the Christmas holiday."

"How did it happen so quickly?"

Hermione looked at Harry and then back at Ginny before she sat on one of the desks next to her and started to relay the details she'd given Harry. About their connection early on in the year and Malfoy admitting he had feelings for her and putting space between them for her to figure it all out. About her solid reasons for breaking things off with Ron and her eventual confrontation about her own feelings with Malfoy.

As she finished Ginny's mouth was hanging open.

"I know you haven't wanted to get involved with Ron and I's breakup," Hermione said, "And I was hoping to keep you clean of this information until I told Ron as well… I just still haven't been ready to tell him yet until recently, but of course I wanted to plan out the most logical way to do it to minimize reactions and I thought I'd come up with a good one and was trying not to divert from that plan until I realized it was too late at dinner tonight and it would be just plain silly to not just tell you now. Besides the fact that I just royally pissed off my boyfriend which made it all feel that much worse."

Silence hung in the air for a moment before Ginny finally found her words again, "You're dating Draco Malfoy."

"Yes."

"You are… _dating_… _romantically_… Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy is your boyfriend."

"Yes."

"Holy shit."

"I know," Hermione gave her a crooked smile, "Caught me off guard too."

"And he… treats you well?"

"More than," Hermione said, "He took me to Paris for Valentine's Day. Complete with a private tour of an art museum, a shabby used book store, cozy cafe and, ah, quaint hotel."

"And you have… a real connection with him. With Draco Malfoy."

"Yes. A very real one. I've never felt quite so comfortable just being with someone. Talking about life. Discussing books. Exploring new places and things."

Ginny looked over at Harry, "And what do you make of this?"

Harry shrugged, "They're both really happy, Gin. I like Malfoy. You know he's a friend of mine. I've talked to him about their relationship as well—"

"You what?!" Hermione cut in but he ignored her.

"He cares about her a lot. About the real stuff. I'm happy for them."

Ginny nodded, taking it all in, "I don't know him like you two do, obviously. It's hard to think of him as anything but a git like we always have. I try to be cordial now because Harry's friends with him, but I didn't think I'd ever have to be more than cordial so this is going to take time for me. I mean… his father was the reason I was possessed by Voldemort."

"Gin—" Harry started.

"I know it wasn't Draco," Ginny held a hand up at him, "I know that. But it was his father. There's still a connection there and it's difficult. He let Death Eaters into the school for Merlin's sake."

"He knows his father deserves to be in Azkaban," Hermione said uneasily, "And he accepts responsibility for everything he contributed to during the war and holds onto his regret heavily. We all know what side he was on then and what he was a part of. I just don't see that boy when I look at him anymore. As I told Ron once, you don't have to forgive Draco, or his family. You're allowed to be angry and you're allowed to not be friends with him. But Harry and I have let him move forward in our eyes. And the man I met when I let myself give him a chance was someone completely different. And endearing. And deserving. Him and I don't pretend the past didn't happen, we just try to talk through it; make sense of it, learn from it, grow from it, and look to the future."

"I need some time to let it settle," Ginny said again with a small reassuring smile to her friend, "I want to give him a chance, for you, because I want you to be happy, but I need to let everything you've just told me settle."

"I understand," Hermione said, feeling herself relax a little.

"Ron is going to freak," Ginny noted as the thought hit her like a train.

"I know," Hermione said quietly, "But I'm going to tell him. I want to be honest with him as well, and Draco and I want everything out in the open."

"I still can't believe you're dating Malfoy."

"I'm glad I finally told you," Hermione said, "I've been worried about the reactions, but I've been wanting to tell you ever since I told Harry."

Ginny nodded, looking like her brain was still processing, "I'm glad you did. And I'm glad you're happy, Hermione. I'll do my best to work through my personal feelings on him and try to let him have a new page in his book if I can."

Hermione stepped off the desk and over to Ginny, pulling her into a strong hug, "Thank you for trying, and for hearing me out."

"When are you going to tell Ron?"

"I was planning to do it next weekend. With all of us. You and Harry, and Draco. If you'll be there with me."

Ginny thought for a second before she nodded again, "Alright, that makes sense. I can do that."

"How about we head back to Gryffindor Tower so Hermione can go, er, straighten things out," Harry suggested.

"Yes I think that's a good idea, you're still in for it for keeping this from me," she said feistily, with what Hermione thought (and hoped, for Harry's sake) was a hint of jest.

They all left the classroom together and Hermione turned towards the stairs to the dungeons, mentally preparing for the next conversation she'd have to have.

As she arrived, she took a deep breath before knocking on Draco's door. He unlocked it from within but didn't come to open it, so she pushed it open herself. He was sitting on the couch with a glass of firewhiskey in his hand.

"Draco, I'm sorry," she said as she shut the door behind her, walking closer to him.

"It's fine. Your friend just thinks you're dating Viktor now, which must be better than her thinking you're dating me," he said shortly, placing his glass on the coffee table and standing to confront her, "Tell him hello for me the next time you go to visit."

"I didn't think it through. It was supposed to just be a little coverup. Someone she wouldn't follow up with. I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings."

"I'm sure you've noticed by now, but I'm very over this game of being your dirty little secret," his eyes burned into hers, "When you blatantly lie like that to cover up our relationship it makes me feel like this is nothing to you. That I'm just some rebound from Weasley. I don't want to keep hiding this. I'm sick of it. I love you."

The words came out with intensity and the air was heavy as they stared at each other. She'd come to tell him what happened after he left, but his statement had left a ringing silence in her head that seemed to stop time for a moment. And then she pounced on him without warning, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and crashing her lips onto his as he stumbled backwards, falling onto the couch. She landed in his lap, straddling him and smiling against his lips.

Draco tried to get out what he needed to say between her kisses, thinking she was just trying to put off the conversation, "You — Cannot — Just — Ignore — What — I have — To say."

She pulled back, her eyes shining at him before she planted another kiss on his lips and moved her hands down to unbutton his pants while he slipped her shirt over her head. They had more to talk about, but a decent portion of his brain was admittedly very aroused by her unexpected actions mixed with the passion he already felt from their heated words.

"Granger, I am not just some bloke for you to use to get over him," he hissed as he lifted his hips for her to push his pants down.

She laughed, kissing him again before she lifted his shirt off of him.

"GRANGER," he said louder, forcing her to finally pull back long enough for them to catch their breath. He couldn't let what his body wanted overpower the conversation yet. He wasn't going to be a background character in her life anymore; he wasn't going to be just her passionate rebound before she moved on with someone else. This deserved more than that, "This is serious to me."

"Draco, I love you," she could feel the tears welling in the corners of her eyes from excitement, "I already told Ginny tonight that we're dating and we can tell the whole world tomorrow. I love you too."

She watched as the look on his face changed from frustration to annoyance to realization, and then finally a broad grin broke across his face, "Of course you do," he pulled her face back to his and kissed her soundly as his hands roamed her body like he'd never touched her before.

She moaned softly against his lips and he gave a dark laugh from somewhere deep within, "Granger," he said, "I want all of you tonight."

"I'm already yours," she breathed, her lips locking with his again before moving to the side for him to stand up, kicking off his pants and holding his hand out for her to grab.

She unbuttoned her own pants and pushed them off as he led her to the bedroom, shutting the door behind them. He turned back to her, pushing her softly against the door and kissing her as he moved his hand down her neck and down her arm.

She moaned again, unable, or just uncaring, to keep her desire for what was to come a mystery. Draco lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around him and he kissed her fiercely, hands lost in her hair as she grasped onto his back. Her hand moved down, grazing over his boxers and he bit her bottom lip gently to keep from ripping the fabric off right there. He wrapped his arms around her and stepped back from the door, barely taking his lips from hers as he maneuvered them to the bed, dropping her on the edge. She looked at him with a needy look in her eyes that he knew all too well now, in the best way, as she crawled back on the bed and he followed her.

The rest of their clothes were discarded haphazardly and he had propped himself over her on his elbows, trying to soften his kisses the slightest bit for the moment while another part of him prominently reassured her that he wanted her now.

He trailed kisses to her chest as her skin heated up at the touch; Any hope of keeping quiet lost at this point. _Thank the gods for the silencing charm he kept around the room._ Her hands found their way back to his hair and the blush crept up her neck as she felt her breath sharpen and her back arch into him. His kisses moved to her neck, nipping and biting in a way that made her whole body tense before he returned to her own parted lips. He slipped his tongue into her mouth to meet hers and kissed her hungrily as she pushed her body up against him. More than ready. More ready than she'd ever been in her life.

He pulled back, they were both breathing heavily, and he grinned at her, his eyes burning through hers with passion as he brushed his thumb over her cheek.

"Tell me again," she whispered as she smiled up at him.

"I love you, Granger," he said in a low voice as she closed her eyes to savor the sound, "Now tell me what you want."

"I want all of you," she repeated his words, not worried about the blush that had already overtaken her features as he leaned back down to capture her lips. He hummed against them and she could feel the smirk; could hear it even somehow and it was almost shocking to her that she didn't mind one bit. His confidence made her want more. He'd told her, after all, that she'd never look back after this.

She felt him against her and opened her eyes to meet his. She nodded the slightest bit and he pushed his hips forward into her gently, going a little deeper each time he pulled back as she inhaled sharply. As he pushed forward once more, he felt the warmth encompass him and he buried his face in the crook of her neck as she exhaled with another soft moan before he moved inside her. She wanted to remember this feeling forever: his breath against her neck, his hand pulling lightly on her hair and _him_ fully and unequivocally connected to her.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

They lay in a peaceful quiet later that evening, arms and legs still haphazardly entangled, as their breaths deepened once more. Hermione had to admit that she couldn't remember that ever feeling as it did tonight. It was the first time it had ever felt truly right; both sensual and impassioned at the same time; both lustful and loving. She'd felt a connection unlike anything she could describe and it was something she'd be quite happy to feel forever. Her fingertips drew circles over his hand that was resting on her hip and she heard a hum on contentment beside her. She turned towards him, he was already watching her and his lips curled up into a smile.

"So was I right?" He asked.

They both knew what he was referring to and Hermione laughed, "I'm not giving you the satisfaction of a response."

"So yes, then," his smile broadened and he moved his lips closer to her ear, "Because honestly, Granger, that's how it felt for me. I don't think I'll ever look back."

Her eyes drifted closed, enjoying the sensation of his breath on her ear, as her heart fluttered, "I love you," she said quietly, shocked as to how easily the words could fall from her lips now that they'd been freed.

Draco captured her lips once more, but it was soft and lingering as she drew in a full breath through her nose before he pulled back and their eyes met again.

"So what did she say," Draco asked lazily, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as he settled beside her again, "Ginny. About you dating me?"

"She was surprised," Hermione downplayed it, nuzzling into her pillow and not at all wanting to ruin the turn the evening had taken, "She said she needs some time for the conversation to settle, but she said she wants to _want_ to give you another chance. It just might take a little time. But she seemed supportive in the end."

Draco nodded, his spirits too high to let it hit him too hard. He knew Potter would probably be the easiest of the bunch and the rest would be hit or miss until he had the chance to prove himself.

"And I gave her an overview of our wonderful weekend in Paris," Hermione said smiling up at him.

"I thought it was a lovely weekend, myself. Being able to hold your hand in public and share a new experience with you. Those are the kinds of things I want. I haven't been trying to make things difficult for you, I just want to experience the world together and we can't do that from behind my bedroom walls."

"I know," she said with a small laugh, "I'm sorry I've been so stubborn on the matter. I want those things as much as you do. For some reason the reaction from everyone has just been getting in my head. But I know now more than ever that it doesn't matter. I had wanted it to be a surprise, but I planned to tell everyone next weekend. I had this whole meticulous plan. But to hell with the plan. Let's do it tomorrow evening after the Head of House meeting. We'll get Ron together with Harry and Ginny to knock that barrier down and then Tuesday morning we can walk into the Great Hall together hand in hand. Whatever they all have to say, I don't care. I love you. I love what we have. Whatever's out there, we'll face it together."

"Yes," he said definitively, completely unable to stifle his own smile, "Whatever happens, I'll be by your side."

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	22. The Talk

**Chapter 22:** The Talk

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

And so, Monday's classes came and went. Hermione rushed through the Head of House meeting; there was nothing overly important for them all to talk about anyway, and then she and Draco walked to Harry and Ginny's room. She'd talked to Harry earlier and he'd agreed to get Ron to their room in preparation.

She and Ron had been on decent terms now for a few weeks, finding a comfort level talking in groups together, as well as making a point to walk up to each other for a conversation once a week or so. Try to gradually get to a point of not feeling uncomfortable around each other. It was clear to Hermione that Ron hoped they would retain their friendship as well, which is what made her want to be honest with him and give him the decency of a private conversation between friends, as opposed to catching him off guard with everyone else.

She and Draco paused outside Harry's door and he squeezed her hand reassuringly, "I love you and I'll be right here by your side. You've done nothing wrong."

She nodded, taking a deep breath and knocking on the door.

"Come in!" She heard Harry call.

She pushed the door open, walking in with Draco in tow.

"Hey, Hermione," Ron waved with a sheepish smile that fell immediately as he saw Draco behind her. He'd continued being cordial to Draco at Harry's request, but he certainly had no intention of hanging out with him, "I was just about to head off to bed," he said a bit rigidly.

"I actually need you to stay for a few minutes," Hermione said a little breathlessly as he looked at her with furrowed brows. He'd tried to politely excuse himself and assumed she knew why so he didn't understand why she was making it awkward for them all.

Draco closed the door behind them and came to stand next to Hermione, "Evening, Weasley," he said, trying his hardest to convey some kind of polite tone.

Ron looked over at Harry, who gave him his own uncomfortable smile.

"What's everyone on about tonight?" Ron turned back to Hermione.

"Well, there's something I — we — wanted to tell you," she said, willing herself to keep speaking and not to give herself a reason to pause, "So I'm just going to get right to it. Draco and I are dating. We wanted everything to be out in the open and I wanted to be the one to tell you."

Ron's mouth fell open as he gaped at her, processing her words in a similar way that Ginny had.

"We've been together since the holidays," Hermione continued, filling the silence, "I knew the timing of everything wasn't great so I tried to be respectful to you and keep it quiet for a little while. But now I need to be respectful to Draco and let everything be out in the open."

There was another bout of silence as they waited for his response.

"_Have you gone mad_?" His words were dangerously quiet as he found his voice, "Or is this some kind of_ joke_?"

Draco took a step forward towards Ron, not at all a fan of being treated like he wasn't in the room, "It's most certainly not a joke, Weasley."

"I'm not talking to you," Ron said, looking back at Hermione, "How could you possibly go from me to _Malfoy_?"

"Ronald I told you if you didn't want to give him another chance that was your prerogative. But you know I did. I know him as a completely different person than you do. If you just give him a _chance_—"

"Are you fucking kidding me," Ron stood up, turning on Harry, "Why is no one else outraged by this?"

"She told me a month ago," Harry said calmly, "And Ginny last night."

"And everyone just thought it would be fun to gang up on me with it tonight?"

"We're not ganging up on you, Ron," Hermione kept her voice even and strong, "I wanted to be honest with you, but I expected your reaction wouldn't be a pleased one so I asked Harry and Ginny to be here with us so we can all talk rationally."

"I'm still trying to figure out how you think there's a rational conversation to be had," he said scathingly, looking at her like he didn't even know who she was anymore, "So did you leave me for him? Or were you already with him when we called off our engagement?"

"Neither Ronald. You and I both knew we weren't happy and that we weren't supposed to be together. Nothing happened between Draco and I until after we broke up."

He wasn't even listening to her, "I guess this explains why you started going to your Sunday meetings early and going on dates to the Three Broomsticks."

"We were leading the Dueling Club together and had Head of House duties. And we were _friends_."

"Funny how quickly that translated into something more once I was out of the picture."

"I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I didn't start developing feelings for Draco earlier because I did," she said as Ron snapped his mouth shut at the admittance, "But I didn't cheat on you, Ron. And I didn't leave you just because I had a crush. You and I weren't working. We weren't happy. We hadn't put effort into our relationship for years and it was a long time coming. Of course my feelings for Draco played a factor in making a decision when it came to you and I because that wouldn't have been fair to anyone if I didn't address it, but it was far from the only factor. So yes, once you and I were broken up, I took some time to think about what I needed to move on from our relationship and what I wanted in the future and another month later Draco and I talked and we acknowledged that we were feeling the same way. That's life. It's unexpected and unplanned, and sometimes it's messy. I did my best to put space between everything and not make any rash decisions but at the end of the day, it's just something that happened. I'm not sorry I fell for Draco because he's a wonderful person. And just because you and I broke up doesn't mean I don't care about you. You'll always be important to me and your friendship will too if we can move past this. You and I were always better as friends and we've both agreed about that."

Without knowing how to respond, Ron rounded on his sister, "And _you're_ okay with this?" He asked incredulously, "You don't like Malfoy much more than I do. You've told me you think they're crazy for being friends with him."

Ginny glanced at Draco and then back at Ron, "No, Ron, I don't understand it and I've got plenty of personal issues to work through with Malfoy, but Hermione is my friend and she's happy and you both decided mutually to split, as I remember it. You even said you knew it was the right decision and should have happened a long time ago. So when it comes to her dating Malfoy, I'll do some internal thinking and I'll try to get to know him, and I'll see what happens."

Draco watched the girl as she talked. There was a fierceness in her words that told him she meant what she said. He could even appreciate that she wasn't sugarcoating it. He knew he'd been a prick and he deserved her distrust, but he also knew he could earn her trust if she gave him a chance. And he believed her when she said she would. She clearly was the kind of person who spoke her mind and didn't double back. She'd told Hermione she would support her, so she would.

Ron finally looked back at Hermione, "This is absolutely the most disrespectful thing you could have done after our breakup. Dating our enemy. The one who—"

"I know his past, Ron."

"_Do_ you—"

"Weasley," Draco cut in and everyone turned to him, "I know I did some horrible things when we were younger. There is no amount of anger you can throw at me that would surmount how I feel about my _own_ past. I'm sorry for everything my family and I caused you and your family. I can apologize as many times as you need. But I'd like us to move past this. I don't want to be the monster you think I am."

"It's not me you need to apologize to, Malfoy. It's Ginny, for what your father put her through with the chamber of secrets; it's Bill, for letting Greyback into the castle sixth year. It's Fred, for being on the side that murdered him."

Draco looked over at Ginny, whose eyes flashed with pain at the mention of Fred, "I'm sorry for what my father did to you. I had no idea he had any part in it at the time."

Ginny nodded but knew her issues weren't the priority right now, "You and I can have this conversation another time, Malfoy."

He looked back at Ron, "I had no idea Greyback would be coming into the castle that night. He wasn't supposed to be here and no one else was supposed to get hurt besides…"

"Dumbledore," Ron said viciously.

Draco paused as they stared at each other, he'd known this wasn't going to be an easy evening but this was his chance to finally put it all out there to the one person that didn't want to listen, "I have a lot more to explain on that case than what I'll say now, but yes. I would never have let Greyback in around my own friends. And I didn't want to kill Dumbledore. But I thought seeing my task through was the only way to protect my family. I lowered my wand when he said he could help us," Ron scoffed but Draco continued, "And Fred—" his own voice got a little tighter than he'd like, "I did apologize to Fred. At his funeral after everyone else left. I apologized for all of it. Everything I ever did or contributed to. I sat there for hours by myself until it got dark just talking to his tombstone. If anyone, Fred's heard it all, I just wish I could have said it sooner."

Ron stared at him, "Why in the world would you have gone to Fred's funeral?"

"For that reason exactly. I know we never got on, but I thought the twins were funny. Fred deserved to still be here and his life was taken unfairly. So I went; I stood at the back by the line of trees and I waited until I could go up and say my piece and it all just came out. So Weasley, I am sorry. More sorry than you'll ever understand or that I'll ever be able to convey to you. But I am sorry for all of it. And I'm sorry that I can't change what happened and that I couldn't have been the one to take Fred's place because believe me, in that moment I wanted to," his words hung heavily in the room as he tried to dial back all of self-loathing he'd felt in the months after the Battle of Hogwarts. He cleared his throat a little, "But I can change myself, and that's what I've been trying to do. Even more so with the support of Granger and Potter. Turns out being around people who want to see the best in you tends to pull it out."

Draco glanced over at Harry who was giving him some kind of encouraging, crooked smile. He and Hermione were really the only two friends besides Pansy and Blaise that he'd ever confided those feelings in and he'd never even told them about his talk with Fred. But he had to take down his walls if he had any hope of gaining people's trust. Not that he ever thought he'd really gain Ron's… but the best he could do was show him the unedited version of his side of the story. It didn't take away what he'd done, but maybe it humanized it even a little.

Ron was quiet, looking like he was still deciding where to take the fight from there as Hermione took a step forward to Draco and interlaced her fingers with his.

"You don't have to be enemies," she said softly, "We didn't come here to fight with you, Ron. I just wanted to be honest and we want to try and put everything in the past and coexist and hopefully retain a friendship eventually."

Ron turned towards Harry again, still not speaking.

"You'll always be my best mate, Ron, I'm here to talk on both sides. If you want to talk after they leave, we can talk all night. But I do hope we can all be friends together eventually also."

Ron, realizing he was on his own nodded slowly, "I need some time to myself right now," the words were tense, but more calm than earlier, "This is more than I was ready for."

"Ron—" Hermione started.

"I need to go," they locked eyes and she could tell he was hurt and angry. But he also must be conflicted, or else he'd still be yelling.

"Okay."

Ron looked around at them all again, pausing an extra beat on Draco, looking like he had more to say, but instead he walked to the door and took his leave.

As it closed behind him, Hermione and Harry caught each other's eyes sadly. They'd been best friends for so long. She hoped she hadn't just torn the three of them apart for good. But she loved Draco, which was something she was so positively sure of, that she knew she'd done the only thing she could. It was the right decision. She just had to hope Ron would come around. Or at least just not make a horrible scene in the morning.

"Well, that could have gone worse," Ginny broke the silence in the room.

Hermione let out a long breath, "Could have gone better, too."

"I'll go check in on him a little later," Harry said.

"You don't have to," Hermione shook her head, "We did what we needed to and he'll react how he's going to."

"I'm still going to. I think maybe he needs a little bit to sift through his thoughts on the matter and then I think it'll be good for him to have someone to talk it out with."

"Did you really go to Fred's funeral?" Ginny said to Draco, still breaking down what was said, herself.

Draco nodded, feeling a little awkward, "Yes, like I said, I felt I had to be there and apologize as it was someone you never should have lost. I'd never told anyone about it because I saw it as a very personal thing and it felt almost self-serving; like I thought perhaps it would lessen the guilt I felt if I apologized to someone. But if anyone should hear it, it's you all."

"That was bold of you," she said, looking deep in thought and Draco waited for her to elaborate, unsure if she was angry he'd gone, "We probably would have given you a lot of shit if we'd seen you there, but you went anyway. Thank you for apologizing to Fred. Wherever he is, I bet he'd have appreciated it. Self-serving or not, it was a bold thing to do."

Hermione watched as they shared a look of mutual respect and her lip pulled into a crooked smile as she looked at Draco, "I'm glad you shared that story with us," she said before turning to Ginny, "I'd never heard it before either. But I did see him at the funeral, so I know he was there. I just didn't feel it was my place to mention it."

"I think I should get off to bed," Draco said, ready to be with his own thoughts as well. He was glad he'd said what he'd wanted to, but it still wasn't easy for him to be vulnerable with those he didn't know so well, like the Weasleys.

"I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall at seven tomorrow," Hermione reassured him, "Get some sleep."

He leaned down and kissed her softly, "You too," he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and tried to return her look before turning to the others with a final nod, "Thank you for being here to support us tonight."

He left the room and Hermione walked over to Ginny, hugging her tightly, "I'm going to head to my room as well, but thank you again."

"We told you we'd be here and we are," Ginny responded with a tight squeeze back.

She moved over to Harry who hugged her just as tightly, "Night Hermione."

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The next morning, Draco climbed each step to the Entrance Hall with his heart beating faster than normal in his chest. He had no idea what they were going to walk into this morning, but whatever it was, they'd walk into it together. As long as Hermione hadn't changed her mind. _But of course she wouldn't, why would he even think that?_ Because it was his biggest fear at this point, that's why. He knew she loved him, but he was still so worried that she'd come to her senses and walk away from him when she realized what being with him meant. It meant stares from others. It meant defending past actions he didn't want to defend himself. It meant having to be in the same room as his parents eventually. It meant a lifetime of traversing the Wizarding World on the arm of a Malfoy. A part of him still couldn't imagine this relationship being worth all of those concessions for her.

But as he ascended the last step he lifted his head and saw her standing there amid a few lingering students; a smile on her face, and an endearing look in her eyes that told him she was ready for this to take the next step; she was ready to walk that road with him through the easy days and the difficult conversations. As he walked up to her she held out her hand to him. A gesture that meant more than he could describe.

"Good morning," she said casually, like this was the most normal day in the world.

"Good morning," he grinned back, taking her hand and squeezing it gently in his, his thumb brushing against hers, "Are you ready to head in?"

She nodded definitively, "I'm quite hungry this morning."

"Well I hope the breakfast selection is to your liking then," he quipped, leading the way to the open doors to the Great Hall, where the students and teachers were gathered, as always, before the day's classes.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N**: Thanks for reading, hope everyone is staying healthy and safe!


	23. Tales of the Headmistress

**Chapter 23:** Tales of the Headmistress

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The normally boisterous student voices quieted as they entered, hand in hand, but they kept their focus on each other, talking casually about their morning schedules. Draco had his seventh year Potions classes and Hermione had her sixth year Transfigurations students.

"Morning, Professor Granger," Fiona's voice broke the silence of the room as they walked by, her tone coy and her eyebrows raised admirably at the way they were suavely playing out their predicament. Hermione had a feeling based on her look that perhaps Marielle _had_ told one person that they'd encountered each other in the Slytherin dungeons one Sunday morning.

"Good morning, Fiona, see you in class," Hermione smiled at the girl as they continued onto the professor's table.

As Hermione turned her head forward again, she caught Ron's glance briefly. He eyed them only for a moment before he turned back to his conversation with Harry as though nothing were unusual. He didn't look angry and it didn't look as though he were about to yell or stomp out of the room and she felt an overwhelming appreciation for him in that moment. He was letting her live her life and handle this situation with dignity.

Draco released her hand as they reached the table and he took the seat on the other side of Harry, waiting until the tea cup in front of him filled itself before he grabbed it, blowing on it lightly, his eyes still locked on Hermione as she told him about the chapter they were going over in class that morning. She sat down next to him and grabbed a slice of toast to add to her plate before spooning some eggs alongside it.

"Morning, Malfoy," came Harry's voice and he turned his head slightly.

"Morning, Potter," he gave him a crooked smile before they both returned to their conversations and the noise in the room picked back up all at once.

The buzz was louder than usual and they all knew why, but they ignored it. Hermione's gaze traveled down the table and she saw Seamus's fork paused halfway to his mouth, staring at them as Dean gawked on similarly.

Luna waved a bit too enthusiastically from the other side of Ron and she could see Ginny whispering to Neville, likely about what was going on, as he looked befuddled.

From the other side of Hermione, Draco noticed Padma and Hannah whispering excitedly between themselves while trying to keep an outward appearance of nonchalance, and Ernie was awkwardly trying to hold a conversation with the Headmistress while casting curious glances over at them. McGonagall had an almost unnoticeable smile on her lips but was staying focused on her current conversation.

Breakfast passed unusually quickly that morning with all the adrenaline before they were on to their classes and whatever came next.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hermione walked into her first class of sixth years that morning to a sea of hushed whispers that stopped abruptly as she reached the front of the classroom.

"Good morning, if you could all pass up your homework, we'll be going over our chapter on conjuring charms, starting with a quick review of what you all should have read over the weekend and then some hands on practice."

She flicked her wand and an overview of wand movements and pronunciations appeared on the board as students began passing up their essays on Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration.

"How was your weekend, Professor Granger?" Asked Christian from the back of the room as he handed his essay to Fiona, who sat in front of him.

Hermione looked up from the lesson plan she'd been flipping through on her desk. Honestly, she should have expected this from one of them.

"Very nice, thank you."

"Did you and Professor Malfoy do anything special for Valentine's Day?" He asked in a tone that he tried to convey as innocent.

Hermione felt her lip pull up but she tried to keep her features passive as she answered him in a sarcastically chiding voice, "Mr. Crabbe, my classroom is not a gossip mill." She couldn't blame them for being curious, but she certainly wasn't going to talk about her relationship to a group of sixteen year olds, "Now, who can tell me how many exceptions there are to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration?"

Zachary raised his hand from across the room and Hermione pointed to him, "Five."

"Wonderful, and can someone give me an example of one of these exceptions that can't be conjured?"

Gabriel raised his hand next to Zachary and Hermione called on him, "Good food," he said and everyone chuckled.

"That is actually a great example," Hermione nodded, "Now, if everyone could take out their wands, we'll be working on conjuring flowers today using the _Orchideous_ spell."

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The accelerated timing of everything meant their first day on display as a couple also coincided with the dueling club. They'd discussed their stance on how to tackle it, knowing they had to separate their professional duties from their personal lives, so there would be no hand holding and they would try to reduce the amount of teasing that now was obviously flirty banter that they'd always played off as friendly. As Hermione's final class ended and her seventh year Transfiguration students trickled out of the classroom, a knock came at the door. She looked up to see the Headmistress in the doorway.

"Good afternoon, Professor Granger," she greeted her, "Before you head off for the day, I was hoping we could have a little chat."

Hermione felt herself flush a little, knowing the coming conversation likely had to do with her new relationship status, "Of course, Headmistress, Come in."

McGonagall walked into the room, pulling the door shut behind her before she walked closer to Hermione with her hands clasped in front of her, "It has come to my attention that you and Mr. Malfoy may be_ romantically involved_. And while I of course understand that life happens as it does, we will need to sit down and discuss how this impacts your duties, and I will need to go through the Hogwarts Professor Handbook with you both on how to conduct a professional relationship around the students. And although you have heard the talk before, Mr. Malfoy has not and so you will both need to be present."

"Of course, Headmistress," Hermione nodded, "We should have come to you first. It all just happened so quickly and my main concern was downplaying the reaction with Ron and of course the students, I guess I overlooked the consideration of school policies. Not something I usually do."

"We can go over it all now," McGonagall waved her apology off, "But it is something that needs to be addressed so I wanted to set an appointment with you both. I'll be sending an owl along with that appointment for tomorrow afternoon."

"We'll be there," Hermione assured her.

"There's one more thing, Ms. Granger, that I wanted to tell you about," McGonagall took a moment to look at the girl she'd watched grow up in front of her eyes. One of the many students she cared deeply for, "I feel I may be one of the few people who has had more contact with Mr. Malfoy over the last five years than most, did you know that?"

Hermione furrowed her brow, Draco hadn't told her much about those years after the war besides that he'd spent his time at the Manor continuing his studies in some shape or form, "No, I didn't," she said, "I knew he worked with you to finish schooling, but he didn't tell me much about what he was really doing with his time in between. I was under the impression he wasn't doing much at all."

McGonagall gave her a small smile, "Not much publicly, no. I worked closely with him and his mother after the Battle of Hogwarts so he could finish his education and take his N.E.W.T.s away from the school," she nodded, "And I will be honest, it was hard for me at first to want to work with the Malfoys, knowing their part in everything, but I knew Dumbledore would want me to hear them out and give the boy a second chance. I had to set aside a lot of predisposed biases, but I knew it's what Albus would have done."

"I know it is too," Hermione said quietly.

"Mr. Malfoy and I went over evaluations together throughout that seventh year process and I helped to set him up with what we considered 'post-graduate' potions work afterwards. You see, he'd had interest in becoming a potions master, originally, to work on developing new potions, an interest he expressed to me upon receiving his N.E.W.T.s, which he did exceptionally well on. He spent the next two years completing additional studies and research in the field from the Manor, which was overseen by a well-known potions master in London who happens to be a good friend of mine. He even wrote a thesis on simplifications of healing potions for home brewing remedies in the years that followed. A thesis that was reviewed by both myself and Professor Slughorn, along with his mentor, and published in one of the more renowned potions journals under a false name. He was very unsure about using his own name because he expected backlash. I think he really just enjoyed the work and the distraction to keep busy."

"I didn't know that," she said honestly, interested in asking Draco more about it later. To be fair, she'd never specifically asked and she knew he thought of his time after the Battle of Hogwarts of a particularly dark time in his life.

"Well I am telling you because from the time I spent working with him and interacting with him and his mother after the Battle, I knew there had been a change in him. A very positive change. One I hoped others would see one day. He was a part of something terrible and tragic. But he was a boy and I saw him trying to grow and move forward. I wasn't sure anyone else would ever get to witness what I had. But when Susan had to step down from the Potions professor position, a part of me wondered if he'd grown enough to consider it, although I didn't seek him out. I thought if he wanted to put himself back out there, he'd do it on his own. Horace and I were both very happy when he did. There wasn't really much of a question once we saw his application. We both knew how skilled in potions he was and we'd both been in contact with him for the last few years and saw it as an opportunity to give him the chance to prove himself to the wizarding world again. To show everyone the change we'd seen. That's why we hired him," she paused again, looking fondly at Hermione, "I'm very proud of you for showing the compassion towards him that you have, befriending him at first, allowing him to move forward despite the actions of his past. It's a difficult and often impossible thing to do and I've been in awe of you, and Mr. Potter, for giving him the chance to be a better person."

"I saw the change immediately as well," Hermione said, "I felt like I'd met a whole new person when he started here and when we'd gotten past the uncomfortable acknowledgements of what working together meant. Once the defenses were down, I met a wonderful man. Thank you for giving him that chance after the Battle of Hogwarts. Sometimes all it takes is one person believing in you to want to keep pushing forward."

McGonagall reached out and placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder in a very motherly way, "One person believing in you can change everything." With one more proud look she turned and headed for the door, "My owl should arrive tonight to your _separate_ rooms."

Hermione cleared her throat with an awkward chuckle, "Of course, Headmistress. See you tomorrow."

Hermione alluded to Draco at dinner later that she'd be spending the evening in her own room after the Dueling Club, nudging her head inconspicuously towards McGonagall and he'd grinned back at her and nodded.

They walked together to the Dueling Club that evening, happy not to have to purposefully enter at different times. A few students were milling about chatting as they arrived; a handful of third and fourth years and the usual sixth years, who Hermione was sure had wanted to get there early to get something out of them.

"Good evening everyone," Hermione said as they made their way to the front of the theater hall.

Gabriel turned from his conversation with Fiona and Marielle at Hermione's voice, "Professor Granger, Professor Malfoy, happy Tuesday," he said suavely.

Hermione looked back, "Happy Tuesday, Gabriel."

"We were just talking about our weekends. Fiona and Marielle went to dinner in Hogsmeade. Christian and Ariela spent the afternoon at Madam Puddifoots. Zachary, Marcus and I had a good day passing a quaffle down at the pitch. Since we're all sharing our stories, we figured it would only be courteous to ask you about your weekend, as we would any other week."

Hermione and Draco shared an amused glance and Draco shrugged slightly as she let out a long breath of defeat. Technically it was a harmless question that they would normally answer if not for their new status.

"Alright," she turned back to the students as more trickled in, "But this is not gossip. It's simply a conversation about our weekends and is not something that needs to be delved into or discussed."

"Of course," echoed valiantly through the room as everyone's ears perked up.

She wasn't sure if she'd ever had a group of students quite so attentive to what she was saying in her entire year as a teacher so far and she looked over at Draco again and gestured for him to share. He grinned at her and nodded in an oddly trusting way.

"I went to Paris this weekend," he said simply, "And ran into Professor Granger, who also happened to be in Paris, at an art museum."

"_Paris_?!" Ariela, a tall girl who was latched onto Christian's arm, leaned forward in awe, "They went to _Paris_, Christian."

"I can't very well apparate us to Paris, Ariela," Christian scoffed, "We don't even have apparition licenses."

"It just sounds so nice," she sighed.

"You'd all probably think it was quite boring, actually," Hermione looked over at Draco with her eyes shining, "We just drank cappuccinos, discussed art and read books."

"All the things that really get a professor excited," Zachary joked.

"One day you'll find there's nothing quite as exciting as a stimulating conversation," Hermione told him sincerely, "Alright, now that you've got what you all came here for, we're going to get started with the meeting," there was a quick murmur of whispers before they quieted again, "Tonight we'll be practicing the tickling hex. However, we've been discussing the idea of taking the month of March to pick an advanced spell to work closely with you all on. We haven't decided on one yet. But I thought it would be something to look forward to. Something to really take from the club."

There were some more excited whispers and Draco drew the attention back, "For now, we'll show you the tickling hex and protection charm and you can get started for the evening."

They met in the middle of the room, raising their wands and walking their three paces before turning, Hermione lifting her wand, "_Titillando_!" She said clearly.

"_Protego_!" Draco deflected the spell.

"I think this counts as a 'fun' one for the students to see," Hermione said innocently.

"Oh come on," Draco looked back at her, hoping she was joking, "You're going to use that card _now_?"

"Yes, I think I am," she grinned.

"Fine, fair is fair."

She raised her wand again as everyone looked on, "_Titillando_!"

Draco didn't even raise his wand as he accepted his fate and burst into fits of laughter as it hit him. He hunched over, clutching at his sides, but completely unable to stop it.

"_Finite_," Hermione said after just a few seconds, and the sensation subsided.

Draco stood back up straight, leaning on the counter as he caught his breath from laughing as all the students cheered. He shook his head as he glanced up at Hermione. She was looking at him with that endearing smile and he couldn't help but return it, even after her tickle attack, "Well now you all know what to expect."

They split into groups and Draco and Hermione went about their normal teaching duties until the clock approached curfew once more.

"Alright, next week will be our dueling day, so study up on your spells," Hermione said as they gathered their things, "And we'll announce what spell we're going to be tackling together in March."

The students waved goodnight as they left until Draco and Hermione were the only ones remaining, starting their process to put the room back together.

"I think that went well," Draco said, "We had to know they'd ask for some kind of information."

"I know," she sighed, "I think we handled it as well as we could have. Besides, our meeting with McGonagall is tomorrow to discuss our professional boundaries, so you can at least plead innocent for one day."

They'd agreed to split ways at the Entrance Hall to abide by McGonagall's request for the evening. They wouldn't spend every night apart, but the beginning of their public relationship likely had to come with some professional distance. But not too much distance. Just enough to keep up appearances.

Draco looked around them quick before pulling her into him as they reached their split, "It's felt very nice to get this all out in the open," he said with a grin, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear as he leaned down to capture her lips.

She looked up at him as they parted, "I just feel this overwhelming sense of relief," she smiled, "I'm sorry I was so stubborn."

"You were stubborn and I was a prat about it a few times," he shrugged, "All that is over. Now we get to enjoy the easy part."

"And the fun part," she ran her hand suggestively down his chest and he grinned wickedly at her.

He moved his lips to her ear, "Now why would you say that on a night that I have to let you go back to your own room?"

"So you can think about it all night and miss me," she responded coyly as he pulled back just far enough for her to pull him back down for a deeper kiss. It was after curfew and they were alone, after all.

A pitter-patter on the stone floor broke them apart and they both laughed as Mrs. Norris' yellow eyes stared disapprovingly back at them.

"Better head to bed before Filch catches up," Draco whispered, pulling her close again for one more peck, "I love you, Granger," he said against her lips and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

"I love you, too," she said as she stepped back, their hands the last thing to break away as they departed for their own sides of the castle.

As Hermione arrived back to her room, she set her wand on the table and started for the bedroom before a knock on the door stopped her. Frowning, she turned back around, wondering who would be calling on her at this late an hour. To her surprise, she opened the door and saw Ron standing outside, hands in his pockets and an unreadable expression on his face.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"Of course," she stepped to the side as he came in.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

When Draco arrived back to his room that evening, he felt high. Everything was finally falling into place; Their secret was out and the hard part was over. Now he could just focus on enjoying their time together and letting things progress naturally, dealing with whatever little things popped up along the way.

He shrugged off his cloak, throwing it over the arm of the couch when a tapping at his window caught his attention. He still didn't know how the owls got outside the windows of the dungeons, but he'd also never thought about it much; Hogwarts had its secrets. To his surprise, as he opened the window, he was met with not one, but _two_ owls fighting over the tight space on the ledge. One letter was from McGonagall detailing their meeting time the following day. And one from Lucius.

_Draco,_

_I've heard from a friend that you've been spotted at The Alchemist Den with a mystery woman. He overheard Pansy call her name and if I'm not mistaken it sounded quite similar to a certain muggleborn that I've met before. I hope my assumptions are incorrect, however if they are not, this is something we will need to discuss. Although times have changed, certain beliefs and traditions should remain intact. Perhaps I am not making myself clear, but I will be out of Azkaban in two months time and if we do not discuss it before then, we certainly will upon my arrival back at the Manor. I've written you before your mother in hopes that we never need to bring her into that conversation._

_I do hope your teaching is going well._

_Please respond at your earliest convenience._

_Regards,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

Draco cursed under his breath, crumpling the note and throwing it into the fireplace, "_Incendio_!" The fire roared to life, flames singeing the edges of the parchment before slowly eating through the rest of it. He ripped open the cupboard door in the kitchen, grabbing a crystal glass and setting it harshly on the counter, "_Accio Firewhiskey_," he pointed his wand at the decanter sitting on the shelf across the room. It zoomed towards him and he caught it, uncorking the stopper and watching darkly as the amber liquid filled the bottom half of his glass. He'd seen a glimmer of hope when Lucius had walked away with him and his mother at the Battle and he had wanted to think Azkaban could teach Lucius some good life lessons so he'd be a better person when he got out, but apparently six years wasn't long enough for those lessons to sink in. He took a long drink from his glass. If there was one person who could turn his mood, it was his father.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	24. Coffee Talk

**Chapter 24**: Coffee Talk

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"How are you?" Hermione asked as she took a seat on the couch, Ron settling into the armchair across the coffee table.

"Alright," Ron nodded unsurely before following up his comment with, "Conflicted; disappointed."

"I know it was a lot to take in last night," Hermione said, not totally confident in which direction this conversation was heading, "But thank you for your passivity today in front of the others."

Ron nodded again in acknowledgement, looking down to focus on what he came there to say, "My reaction last night had everything to do with Malfoy. Not about you moving on."

"I know."

"I obviously wish it was anyone but him."

"I know."

"But since it's not my choice-"

"Correct."

Ron flicked his eyes up to her for a moment before continuing, "I am doing my best to come to terms with it. Because of course I care about you. That's why I'm so bothered by it. It's been impossible for me to imagine what change you and Harry possibly could have seen in him to want to give him another chance. But after hearing what he had to say last night, I can see some glimpse of what you meant. I didn't think Malfoy was capable of regret or remorse, or an apology if I'm being honest. And he proved me wrong. I'm not telling you I'm ever going to really empathize or be friends with the git-" Hermione pursed her lips at him, "-But I get he's changed in some way. And it's your life and you can make your own decisions. I don't want us to not be friends. I don't know how that works when you're dating him, but I guess we can try and figure it out."

"That means a lot, Ron, that you're willing to try and see past it," her eyes softened, seeing the gesture, even if he'd never been one with eloquent words. She knew this would never be easy, but it was better than angry, yelling Ron.

"We've been through a lot together," Ron said seriously, "You were there for me during some of the hardest moments of my life and I know our relationship wasn't always good, but you were my best friend and I wouldn't throw that away. I just hope," he paused and Hermione knew another warning was coming, "I just hope you've considered what dating him means. I mean - are you going to holiday with the Malfoys? And what about when you're out in public with an ex-Death Eater? People see us, see you, as a war hero, whether you want them to or not, the wizarding world is going to be watching."

His tone wasn't harsh, just exasperated and Hermione gave him a soft smile, "All things in time," she said simply, "I don't know what lies ahead for Draco and I, and I know there are going to be difficult times. He's got a lot of demons that he still deals with. But we'll deal with it one day - one thing - at a time. I'm not scared of what comes along with dating him as long as we're in it together. And we are."

She thought it would be more difficult talking about her relationship with Draco to Ron, but it didn't feel that difficult at all. She didn't see any reaction of pain at the talk of her moving on and being so completely settled on another person. The only look in his eyes was concern and still an underlay of confusion at the whole predicament.

"I worry for you," Ron said quietly, "About what the Prophet will say when they get wind of the story, because you know Rita Skeeter is still working the gossip column and has been waiting for a reason to get you back for blackmailing her after the Triwizard Tournament. I worry about the flack that story will bring back on Hogwarts, highlighting that they hired an ex-Death Eater to parents or students that might not know what Malfoy was. It could open the floodgates all over again on him. And, by extension, on you."

"We'll brave the storm," Hermione reassured him, "Dumbledore hired Snape. Hogwarts still stood strong. Besides, even if some parents have their opinions, the students know Draco as their professor, and he's a great teacher, Ron. They really like him."

"I guess I just had to voice my concerns," Ron gave her a crooked smile, "But it seems like your decision is made and I know better than to try and change Hermione Granger's mind when she's set it on something."

"I'm really proud of you for how you're dealing with this."

"Well you know I don't like it, so let's not give me more credit than I'm due. But since we're being open with each other, I've been seeing someone for the last month, so it's really just been about grappling with your choice in partner being Malfoy."

"That's great, Ron," she smiled broader at him, "Can I ask who?"

"Padma," Ron chuckled, "I made such a great impression on her at the Yule Ball."

Hermione laughed, "Yes, I'm sure that was it."

"She and I haven't talked too much the last few years but we both work primarily around the grounds with her tending to the creatures for her classes and in the forest, and me down and back to the Quidditch pitch, so we stop to chat whenever we run into each other. But over the holidays she actually reached out when we were all home saying her sister had been having a rough time thinking about Lavender recently and she asked how I'd dealt with her death and if I had any suggestions for Parvati. Seems I was the only other one she could remember from Hogwarts who had an, ahem, strong connection to Lavender. I'm guessing she didn't remember how messy our breakup was. I kind of sent along some advice of how I'd tried to cope with Fred's death, seemed more applicable since I'm not sure I ever appropriately grieved for Lavender."

"Losing a brother tends to overshadow everything else," Hermione said softly, "But we were all there for Lavender's funeral. It may not have felt like you were fully there, but you were. It was almost like a collective grieving for those months after the Battle, for everyone we lost."

"That whole summer felt like I was just moving through the motions," Ron nodded uncomfortably before clearing his throat, he wasn't usually one to talk about his war trauma, "But yeah, so she sent another message back thanking me for my advice and telling me Parvati was doing better after the holidays. Then we just sort of started sending letters back and forth for those holiday weeks about our lessons and how times have changed since we were all students, and once we were back to the castle after break, we started talking more in person at dinner and around the grounds and eventually, I invited her out to the Three Broomsticks for dinner. It's nothing serious yet but it's going well and headed in a good direction. She still makes fun of me for not asking her to dance."

"Good, you deserve it. You were a terrible date to her," Hermione said with a grin.

"Well you showed up with Krum, didn't you? A bloody international quidditch star; talk about a blow to the gut at the time."

"Stop, you know Viktor and I are still good friends."

"You and I both know he always wanted more than that with you."

"But he was also always very respectful of you."

"Yeah, yeah, anyway, I just wanted to stop by and try to clear the air from my reaction last night. I'm sure you expected it, but I want you to know I'm trying to be understanding. And, as difficult as it is to say, I appreciated that Malfoy put everything on the table and showed his cards last night. It made it hard to keep yelling. Which was good so I could take some time to myself to digest. I want him to be the better person you think he is, for you. And I saw some glimpse of hope last night that at least he's not the prat he was at Hogwarts."

"Well thank you," Hermione said, "Truly, that means a lot. And I'm happy for you that you're seeing Padma."

Ron stood, more than ready to be done with serious conversations, and Hermione followed suit, "Well, have a good night, Hermione. I'll see you at breakfast."

Hermione pulled the door open for him, "See you at breakfast."

As she shut the door behind him she felt an overwhelming sense of relief that what felt like the last thing standing in their way had calmed. She went to bed contentedly that evening, ready for normal life to set in.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Draco awoke early the next morning, blinking his eyes open and taking in the dark outlines of his living room. He groaned, "_fuck_." He turned over on the couch, glad he'd charmed his windows to be a dark shade of grey last night as his head pounded. "_Fuck_," he breathed again, groping around on the coffee table until he found his wand. He pointed it in the general direction of the shelf in the corner, "_Accio Revitalization Serum_." A small bottle flew forward off the shelf and Draco caught it, eyes still shut, uncorking it and downing it in one gulp. He groaned again and covered his eyes with his arm as the potion took affect. He felt his brain working to unfog as air hissed out of his ears. After a good ten seconds of the uncomfortable side effects, he felt the tension in his head release and blinked his eyes open again with a sigh as the letter from his father protruded his thoughts once more.

He'd considered his options last night and decided his best course of action would be to have his mother meet Hermione as soon as possible. Soon enough where his father wouldn't take the step to write his mother first. If Lucius told her specifically to denounce their relationship he didn't… _think_… she would listen, but it would certainly be on her mind and could make her more guarded in person. He'd also decided he wouldn't tell Hermione about the letter from his father. He didn't want to put her off when things were finally supposed to be calm for them. He also figured it would make the meeting with his mother easier for all of them without the subject of his father on all of their minds.

He finally pushed himself from the couch and headed to the bathroom to freshen up before he'd meet Hermione in the Great Hall for breakfast again.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The week went by without incident, Hermione and Draco meeting with McGonagall for a two hour meeting about how to conduct themselves and their relationship in the presence of students, classes and extracurriculars returning to normal with less whispers, and Hermione receiving a note from Pansy about meeting in Hogsmeade for coffee that weekend. She'd felt her lip pull up as she read the note, written in neat, drawling handwriting much like the author's own personality. Harry had insisted they all meet up afterwards for a double date at the Three Broomsticks to which Ginny hesitantly nodded in agreeance with a forced smile. She hadn't sought them out to get to know Draco yet but Hermione knew she'd need her time given her own experiences with the Malfoys.

Hermione and Draco walked down the path to Hogsmeade together early Saturday, hands interlaced and swinging lightly between them. Draco would be taking care of some personal shopping before lunch, starting with an appointment at Madam Malkins' secondary location that had just opened in town for a new set of dress robes - apparently to commemorate their grand opening, they'd received a rare shipment of unicorn hair to entice new customers in the area and Draco insisted it made a difference in the tailoring or else he wouldn't bother investing in a new set right now. As they reached the village he'd pulled her in for a kiss and a quick whisper in her ear about not to believe a word Pansy said about him and she'd laughed, stealing one more kiss before they split ways for the morning.

Hermione walked into the Three Broomsticks, looking around before she saw a flash of black hair being thrown over a shoulder. She'd seen Pansy twice now out at the Alchemist Den, but this would be their first one-on-one interaction and she was a bit nervous, if she was being honest with herself. Pansy used to be the mean girl and was Draco's best friend. She knew she wasn't the same anymore, but it didn't lessen her nerves.

She walked over and the girl looked up, her bright green eyes sparkling at her as she stood, "Granger!" she grinned at her, pulling her in for a kiss on each cheek, which Hermione adapted to quickly, though caught off guard.

"Hi, Pansy, thanks for inviting me out," she returned a smile as they sat.

"Of course, it's been too long, we should have done this sooner," she waved it off, pulling a mug forward towards herself, "I've been here for a while looking through some work files, so I've ordered already, but I'm sure Rosmerta will be around again in a moment."

"That's fine, how have you been?"

"Oh I'm wonderful," Pansy said airily, "I generally just work from seven in the morning til noon during the week but there's an event coming up next month for the International Confederation of Wizards so I've been basically full time the last month. It's been busy, but obviously nothing I can't handle. Plus it's made me pull back some time from Nevelious so he's been missing me, and that's _fun_. Distance makes the heart grow fonder and all that."

"So you're still seeing the chaser from the Wasps?"

"Yes, I've decided I quite like him," she said coyly, "Nev's not as pompous as some of the other Quidditch players I've gone out with. More the type who writes novels in the off season and wakes me up with fresh coffee before he leaves for practice. Such a breath of fresh air."

"He's seemed like quite the gentleman from the small amount of time we've all spent together. Did he go to Hogwarts?"

"Oh no, Beauxbatons, actually, he's French; a couple years older. "

"One of the languages you speak then?"

"Yes, that and a few others. And how have you been, Granger?"

"Really good," Hermione said with an unintended tone of relief, "Things are very steady right now."

"And were they not before?" The tone didn't go unnoticed.

"Morning, miss, can I get you something to drink?" Madam Rosmerta's voice broke into their conversation and Hermione was glad for an extra moment to decide how to tackle the question, "I'll take a tea, please."

"Coming right up," Rosmerta moved onto the next table and Hermione turned back to Pansy.

"Well, we just kind of let our relationship out to the world this week," she said, unsure if Pansy knew it'd been a secret or not.

She furrowed her manicured brows, clearly she hadn't known, "Why was it not out to the world before?"

"Well, I was actually engaged to Ron," Hermione cleared her throat a little, "When I reconnected with Draco, not sure if you knew that."

Pansy's mouth formed an "oh" shape and she nodded as she took that in, "Well that's messy, isn't it?" she said rhetorically, sitting back and taking a sip from her mug, "I have so many questions," she sounded intrigued and excited and Hermione knew it'd be better to give her the semi-full story before she started asking those questions.

And so, she embarked on the story of her time getting to know Draco, and the overview of some of the more obvious issues with her relationship with Ron and the breakup, glossing over some extraneous details in between, and the time to herself, and then the ultimate conversation with Draco about their feelings for each other. By the time she'd finished the tale, she was halfway through her tea and Pansy had refilled the cappuccino she was drinking, leaning in to take in every detail Hermione was willing to share.

"You knew though, didn't you?" Pansy's lips had been glued into a smirk for the duration of the story, "That you were falling for him. And that he was falling for you."

"I had an inkling," she said, evading the full truth.

"Mm hmm," Pansy's lips pulled wider, if that was even possible, "So did Draco go in for the steal while you were still with Weasley? He's not usually one to keep his feelings hidden. He goes for things he wants."

Hermione sputtered for a moment and Pansy laughed, "He put it on the table," she finally said, "And I acknowledged that I was feeling similarly. And then I pulled away and dealt with my relationship with Ron. Something I had been teetering on for months anyway. It was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back, I guess you could say. But we didn't do anything wrong per se."

"Draco is as straightforward as they come," Pansy sighed, "I'm not surprised, but I am kind of proud of him for not crossing the line."

"No, not totally," Hermione said before she could stop herself.

"So he _did_ try something?" Pansy pried.

"Well, I mean telling a girl you want to be with her when she's with someone else is trying something on its own, isn't it?" Hermione responded.

"You're not wrong," she took another sip from her mug, realizing they were in a territory Hermione likely didn't want pushed any further, "Well I'm glad you two figured it out sooner or later. I'd been missing running into him at the Den, he hasn't been in years until he started seeing you. It's special to him there, a place he can go and let loose and not worry about people judging him. He wouldn't take just anyone."

"That's nice to know," she felt herself smile, she knew she was special to him, but it was nice to hear it from someone else.

"He was a mess for a long time, you know," Pansy said, her voice more serious now, "He was in a dark place and the only people he really saw were his mother, myself, Blaise and the potions master he was working with. Pushed everyone else away. Tried to push us away until we pushed back and he let us in. I'm sure he's told you the regret he feels, but I feel it's my obligation to reiterate how deep it runs."

"Of course he has," Hermione nodded, "I do hope he can move past it one day."

"And if he can't?" Pansy asked with interest, "Is that something you could handle long term? The turn in moods, the self-deprecation, the never-relenting regret he tries to hide away?"

"Well, I guess it will just be something we figure out how to deal with together," she said slowly, realizing Pansy might have wanted to get coffee specifically to have this conversation, "I care for Draco very much."

"But you've lived very different lives, experienced things completely oppositely. Do you think you can find the compassion to empathize with something that was so against everything you stand for?"

"I've told Draco I forgave him for his part in everything. I don't believe he wanted to be a part of the things he had to be and I see he's not the boy he was at Hogwarts. And I do empathize with him, no matter which side, I see how far he's come in making changes for the better and accepting responsibility."

"Well that's wonderful then," Pansy nodded, considering the responses, "Draco's worked hard to climb back up from the grave his father dug him and it's clear you're there to offer him support even when the details are as muddy as they are," she flashed her a small smile, cocking her head to the side, "Sorry, I didn't mean to grill you, but this is the first chance we've gotten to really talk and Draco is important to me and I needed to know you were serious about him."

"I am," Hermione said confidently, "And I understand your concern; my friends grilled Draco when we told them about our relationship. But he makes me feel like it doesn't matter what comes our way as long as we're together, you know? It feels like what I've been waiting for all my life."

Pansy reached her hand across the table and covered Hermione's, "So sweet," she drained the last sip of her cappuccino and set her glass down, shifting the mood, "So tell me about you now, what do you like to do, where are you from, what's your favorite color, all of it."

Hermione let out a laugh and settled against the back of her chair, ready to have a nice light chat. They sat there for another hour talking before Pansy looked at her watch and called it a morning to go meet Nev after his practice at the stadium. She'd promised to send an owl along again soon for another coffee date with less serious talk, and had left Hermione to read for a bit before Draco, Harry and Ginny would arrive.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N:** Well, this is another chapter that ended up being just way way too long by the time I finished it so I had to split into two parts. The second half of this chapter is coming soon, complete with moooore romance - just in the editing phase. I promise it won't be another long wait! Hope everyone is doing well :)

o-o-o-o-o-o-o


	25. Advanced Spells

**Warning:** Sexual content ahead!

**Chapter 25:** Advanced Spells

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hermione sat with Harry and Ginny at the Three Broomsticks, telling them a bit about her coffee date with Pansy as Draco walked in, spotting them across the restaurant and walking over. Hermione heard Ginny draw in a deep breath next to her and she stood, leaning up to kiss Draco hello. As they sat, she noticed a few eyes in the restaurant swivel towards them in a double take, but she doubted many of these people knew exactly... who they all... were. Well maybe that wasn't true as the Malfoys were well known in the wizarding world and Harry was… well, Harry Potter. She pretended not to notice however and sat with a smile as Harry and Ginny greeted Draco.

"What have you been up to in Hogsmeade today?" Harry asked Draco as they settled in.

"Madam Malkins opened up a Hogsmeade location recently and they've brought in some special features to the store for their opening weekend so I wanted to stop in for a new set of dress robes," Draco said as though it was a very normal weekend activity, "Did you come in just for lunch?"

Harry nodded, "Going to walk around after and enjoy the village, but we'd probably just be sitting around the room grading papers if we weren't here."

"Well I'm glad you both came out," Hermione said, moving her hand onto Draco's knee casually.

"So Weasley, I saw you out on the pitch last night flying around," Draco said, trying to break into normal conversation, "Why don't you ever join us when we're all out playing?"

"It's just Ginny," she replied coolly, and Draco nodded in acknowledgment with a side glance at Hermione, who squeezed his knee reassuringly, "And I prefer to fly around on my own, good stress relief at the end of the day. Besides, Harry and I get a little too competitive when we play together."

He could tell she was uncomfortable and doing her best to push through it.

"She's not wrong," Harry grinned at Draco, trying to alleviate the tension, "She used to join us sometimes, over the last few years, but we were always seekers against each other and the last game she joined, maybe a year ago?" he looked over at her questioningly as she huffed before he continued, "She stomped off the pitch yelling at me after that game and then decided we were better off playing separately."

Ginny narrowed her eyes feistily, "You cheated that game."

"I did _not_ cheat."

"You distracted me with a kiss and then dove past me for the snitch. It was dirty."

"I didn't even see the snitch until after I'd kissed you, it just happened to be behind you, that's not my fault."

"You really want to get into this again right now?"

"No, er, no I don't," Harry gave her a sheepish smile and Draco laughed.

"Well why don't you come play Chaser? You used to play that position for Gryffindor, didn't you?"

Ginny sighed, "Yeah, I guess I could. I assume you're the seeker against him now, aren't you?"

"I have been," Draco shrugged, "But I'm a fair enough keeper, too, if you wanted to play seeker."

"I don't," Ginny glared sarcastically at Harry again and he wrapped his arm around her and planted an overly dramatic kiss on her cheek as her glare softened but she didn't give in to the laugh that was behind her eyes.

"I'm guessing you had a whole quidditch pitch at your house growing up?" Ginny turned back to Draco, looking mildly more relaxed after Harry's antics.

"I did. I played a lot as a kid."

"Funny, I don't remember you being that good at Hogwarts. I don't think you ever beat Harry to the snitch."

"I still made the team in my second year," he said indignantly.

"Oh that's right, coincidentally the same year your father donated new brooms to the team?" Ginny asked innocently.

Draco looked over at Hermione with his eyebrows raised and then back at Ginny, who's lips finally broke into a smile.

"I'm sorry, I had to," she said, "I grew up with Fred and George and they always said the best way to make new friends was to make sure someone could handle your sense of humor."

Draco looked over at Hermione again, speechless, and she laughed apologetically, "To be fair I did say something similar to you back in second year as well."

"Yes, yes, I remember," he scoffed, "Well I can handle it as long as I know it's friendly fire," Draco said to Ginny, "I was about ready for you to tear me down verbally."

"I could if I wanted to," Ginny told him wryly, "But you've passed the test for now."

"Well _thanks_."

Madam Rosmerta came around for their orders and Harry pivoted the conversation to ask about their trip to Paris. Ginny settled into the conversation with the rest of them, looking impressed with Draco's thoughtful planning of their Valentine's weekend and inquiring further on their visit to the art museum. They'd finished lunch and Harry and Ginny had gone on their way to Honeydukes while Hermione and Draco headed back to the castle.

On their walk back, Hermione finally had the time to bring up the conversation about his time after Hogwarts.

"I had something I've been meaning to ask you," Hermione said casually as they left the cobblestone streets of the village, glad to have the opportunity to talk after a busy week of classes and planning, "McGonagall stopped into my classroom after hearing we were dating and she told me something interesting."

Draco looked over at her, eyebrows raised in interest, "Oh yeah, what's that?"

"Well apparently, before taking a position as a professor, someone was a published research scholar," her lip curled up as she met his gaze.

"Ah," he nodded with a sigh, his gaze moving back to their path as he took a moment to consider how to follow up her revelation. He didn't know why he'd never told her about his studies before returning to Hogwarts, of anyone, she'd be the most interested in his research, "Yes. Yes I should have told you about all of that."

"Why didn't you?" she asked, "I was very impressed by it when McGonagall told me. Was it just because you don't like talking about the years after the war?"

"That's a part of it, yes, but not the whole reason. I think I just felt like talking about my accomplishments would come off a bit disrespectful. It was a time where everyone was trying to put their lives back together from something terrible that I was a part of, and I'm sitting around the manor in my makeshift potions lab researching with a world renowned potions master. It was almost like I got to pretend the whole thing didn't happen, hiding away in the manor distracting myself with research, focusing on things like getting my work published."

"We all spent those years trying to move on. That was your way of pushing forward and rebuilding your life," Hermione squeezed his hand a little tighter, "I'd love to hear more about what you were working on and, obviously, I'd really like to read your thesis."

Draco nodded, "I can request a copy of one of the journals by owl. I wasn't trying to hide anything from you, it's just always felt like I didn't deserve those quiet years I spent after the war studying potions and pushing away the outside world. I should have been doing something to take responsibility for my part in it all. Besides, I always just assumed the right moment would come up in conversation where telling you about it would just happen naturally."

"Or I'd pry it out of you after McGonagall tattled on you," Hermione grinned at him, "It was a great thing you were doing for the wizarding world. Studying potions, contributing to the art of healing. You may have been trying to avoid the world and pass the time, but it was at the benefit of society. You weren't just sitting in the Manor playing video games or something."

"Playing what?" Draco furrowed his eyebrows, "What's a video game?"

"Oh, sorry, never mind, not a good analogy," she laughed, "You weren't hiding at the manor riding around on your broom."

"No, I wasn't," he chuckled, "I didn't have much of an interest in anything besides drowning in my research. I got out to fly when I needed to think on something I'd read, or logic my way through when a theory wasn't panning out."

"It makes a lot more sense now why McGonagall and Slughorn wanted to hire you."

"I didn't seem like the ideal candidate, did I?"

"It was more that none of us had heard much of anything about you in years and all of a sudden the Headmistress was deeming you qualified to teach at Hogwarts. I was curious what was behind their decision."

"It was the fact that I'd been working with them directly and indirectly for the last five years," he said, "I have a lot of appreciation for McGonagall for giving me the chance to finish school and then set me up afterwards with Dominic, the potions master I worked with. She certainly seemed hesitant to extend the offer to finish my classes at the manor at first, I'm not entirely sure why she did, to be honest, I don't think I deserved that chance. But I did everything I could to prove to her over that time that I cared about making changes and growing, and she softened towards me eventually. And then she offered me the opportunity to come back here and that offer has changed my whole life," he turned to her with a meaningful look, "She didn't have to do any of it. I feel incredibly indebted to her for the chance she took on me."

"She said she saw the change in you and was excited for others to be able to see it to," Hermione said with a soft smile that he did his best to return.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

They had returned to the dungeons, picking out a book each from Draco's bookshelf, before burrowing into the couch for a quiet afternoon. Hermione leaned back against his chest with her book against her knees as Draco draped one arm over her, rubbing his fingers softly over her shoulder as he levitated his book off to the side.

That evening after dinner they'd finally sat down to start discussing what spell they would work with the students on for the month of March.

"So I thought of a couple good ones that would take a few meetings for the group to perfect," Draco said as they sat down at the small table in his kitchen with a tray of tea.

"I thought of one as well," Hermione said excitedly, "You go first."

"Alright, I was thinking of maybe the Disillusionment charm? It's not exactly a dueling spell, but it could be, and it's definitely the right level of difficulty," steam rose from the first cup as he tipped the teapot forward, "A little less difficult, though still up there, and more in line with dueling, there's the Ebublio jinx to teach them how to trap their opponent in a bubble. It's fun, it's more difficult than what we usually do and it's practical," after filling their cups he set the teapot back and flicked his wand to summon the sugar from the counter, "And then there's the slowing charm: Arresto Momentum—more powerful than Impedimenta and more difficult than Ebublio, though not as fun."

"Those are all great options. I like the Disillusionment charm the best out of the three. A little less directly dueling related, but incredibly useful for a real situation and definitely the most difficult of the options. Something that would be exciting for them to take from the meetings."

"And what was yours?" he tipped the sugar into his cup as Hermione stirred her spoon around before tapping it on the edge and setting it aside.

"Well, I was thinking Patronus charms would be a great thing to take forward," she said as a wide smile broke across her face, not wanting to overshadow her reaction to his ideas, although she hoped he would be excited about hers, "It's challenging, directly related to protection charms, and a really cool spell to master while at school." She'd thought of it the evening before and had been really looking forward to sharing it with him. Plus, she was so interested in what his patronus was that even if they didn't choose to teach it to the class, though she hoped they would, it felt like something new and intimate to learn about each other. She cupped her tea in her hands and anxiously awaited his response.

"Oh," he said without much emotion, nodding his head slowly.

She felt her smile falter a little, it hadn't been the reaction she'd been hoping for, or that she'd expected, "You don't think that's a good idea?" She asked a little unsurely, "I mean I know it's a little challenging, but I learned it in fifth year and there were younger kids in the group as well who mastered it. Just takes some practice and coaching."

"I just…" he paused, avoiding her eyes and trying to figure out how to explain. He took a sip of his tea to buy time.

"The disillusionment spell would be good as well, as I said before," she backtracked a bit, thinking maybe he did feel she was overshadowing his ideas, though they'd already talked about brainstorming together so she didn't know why he'd be upset, "We can obviously talk about the pros and cons of each, I didn't mean to make it sound like we had to do my idea if that's how it came off."

"It's not that," he sighed and she noticed a frustrated undertone, "Of course that's a great idea and would be something really exciting for the students."

"But you don't sound like you want to do it."

"It's just that… I…" his internal thoughts were racing but he realized there was no reason not to just tell her the truth and get it out there, "It's just that I've never produced a patronus."

"You've never… oh," she said trying to hide her shock, "Have you tried the charm before?"

"Of course I have," he couldn't quite meet her eye, "Potter bloody showed it off during OWLs in fifth year to that examiner so I practiced it all summer because I was jealous," he finally lifted his gaze for a moment, "Underage magic is harder to trace in wizarding homes," he clarified, "But I could never get it to work. I read a lot about it trying to figure out what I was doing wrong but it just never happened."

"How long has it been since you've tried?"

"Years, probably. I finally got sick of failing and I never tried it again."

Hermione thought for a few seconds before responding hesitantly, "Well, did you ever consider that maybe you just weren't thinking of a happy enough memory?"

"I always tried to think of memories with my mother from my childhood because she was the one really showing me affection at that time in my life."

"Maybe the memories were strong enough but your own consciousness wasn't positive enough."

"I'm sure that's probably it," he sighed, "Summer after fifth year is when I was given that task from the Dark Lord and my life spiraled into a dark place for a very long time from there. Either way, I'm not sure I'm qualified to teach or give pointers on patronus charms," he said, "It's not that it's not a great idea, it's just not something I can do."

"Well what if you try one right now. On a whim. Just see if maybe it works now that you're in a different place in your life."

"I'd really rather not."

"What's the harm in trying?"

He gave a frustrated sigh, "Fine," he set down his cup and stood up from the table, closing his eyes for a moment to focus before he pointed his wand into the living room, "_Expecto Patronum_!" he said in a strong voice. Wisps of blue light shot from his wand, but they fizzled within seconds. He lowered his wand slowly, not sure what he'd been expecting anyway, "I just can't do it."

"Maybe you and I can devote tomorrow to practicing it," Hermione suggested softly, standing as well and wrapping her arms around him from behind, not wanting to push the subject, but feeling like he just needed a chance to calm down and focus and give it a real try before giving up again.

"Or we can just do the Disillusionment charm," Draco said, turning to her, concealing his look of defeat with some kind of defiance.

"Draco," she cocked her head to the side and felt a crooked smile pull at her lips, "I know you don't like not being good at things because I'm very similar, but I think you can do this. It's just getting past whatever's in your head. I really believe that."

"You're correct in assuming I don't like not being good at things," he responded, not acknowledging the rest of her thought.

She grabbed his hand that was stiffly at his side and raised it, interlacing her fingers with his, "You're being stubborn," she said with amusement, "How about we compromise. Practice with me tomorrow. We'll work together on the Patronus charm. If you're still not able to produce one after that, we'll do the Disillusionment charm with the students."

"You're not going to drop this are you?"

"No."

"_Fine_."

"Good," her smile pulled wider again with a won argument and she leaned up to place a few soft, lingering kisses on his lips as his other hand, wand still clasped in his fist, came up to rest on the small of her back, "You know I've missed you this week," she said between kisses, ready to turn his mood back around and take advantage of sneaking an evening in the same room again. After their first time, she'd told him she was looking forward to exploring the sexual side of their relationship because she'd never really done anything that was… well, anything that was_ that exciting_. He'd pressed her with a prominent smirk about what she would consider exciting and she'd blushingly given him some examples that he'd had no problem promising to help her explore. And now they were finally alone again…

He felt his tension ebbing as her tongue brushed against his. Perhaps this was a ploy of hers to trick him out of being frustrated, but he wasn't entirely upset about it, on the contrary it made him feel that maybe his Slytherin traits were rubbing off on her in a very good way.

"I see what you're doing," he teased as they broke apart again, and her hand slipped underneath the hem of his shirt.

The devious grin on her face was her only response as she pulled his shirt up and he lifted his arms as it came off. He set his wand on the counter behind him as she removed her own shirt and he closed the gap between them, his chest flush against her soft cotton bra.

It had been less than a week since they'd spent the night together, but in the moment it felt like much too long as their hands began roaming; unbuttoning pants, nails running across skin, breath starting to feel heavy against the others' lips. He lifted her into his arms and she wrapped her legs tightly around him as he pressed her back to the wall. It was shockingly cold compared to her heated skin, but her gasp was muffled as his tongue dove back into her mouth. Her fingers wound their way into his hair as they stood there entwined in an easy moment of bliss. He stepped back from the wall, stumbling around a couple of steps to find the entrance to his bedroom before carrying her in, shutting the door a bit hard behind them, and setting her on his bed.

Her eyes never left his as he climbed over her looking hungry. He sucked on her bottom lip softly as a low moan elicited from her throat and he pressed their bodies together again, needing to be closer. Her hands had made their way down the contours of his back and she ran her finger across the line of his pants as his eyes opened to meet hers like molten steel. He pulled back long enough for them to each push their jeans off, kicking them to the floor before he was against her again, his lips at her collarbone. The feeling was intoxicating as goosebumps flooded her arms. She pushed him back and he fell to the side, looking at her questioningly for a moment before her hand connected with his shoulder and pushed him flat on his back on the bed. She threw her legs over him, feeling adrenaline coursing through her; feeling on top of the world.

She leaned down and captured his lips before they parted for her. She felt him unhook her bra, which was discarded before her brain even registered it, and his fingers were running much too lightly across her chest. She pushed her hips against him as she lowered her mouth to his ear, taking it gently between her teeth as she heard a growl escape his lips.

"I want you to take me- _really_ take me- _Draco_," she whispered innocently, her warm breath causing him to tighten his grip on her waist, which only escalated as her teeth grazed his neck a moment later.

Again, her underwear, along with his, was on the floor faster than she could comprehend and he was flipping her over, lips glued to hers once more. He positioned himself between her legs and kissed her roughly, but in a way that she could tell he was trying to hold back and take things slowly with her. But she didn't want him to. She bit his lip a little harder than her normal gentle nibble as their eyes locked again and he took the hint that she was ready to start exploring and didn't want to be treated like porcelain tonight. And he had promised her that was a request he could comply with. He pressed himself into her warmth as her leg curled around him, inviting him in deeper.

"I love you," the words came out in a lustful whisper before he pulled himself back until he was almost out of her, and pushed forward hard again, filling her completely.

She moaned, clasping onto his back for stability, "I love _you_," she managed to get out in between breaths as he raised himself onto one hand and she felt his other wrap lightly around her neck as he moved within her. Invigorated, she tilted her chin up further so he had access to more of her skin, stimulated by the fact that she felt completely comfortable in such a situation with Draco Malfoy.

Draco watched as her head tilted back and he felt a chill run down his spine. He brushed his thumb down the side, the vulnerability of her soft skin sending him into overdrive. How he had ever thought of Hermione Granger as a boring bookworm was so far beyond him in this moment as the innocence in her eyes was replaced with a burning desire to experience passion in a way that she never had before. He moved his hand back into her hair as he lowered himself to kiss her fiercely again, his mind wandering into a tantalizing space of thinking about all the ways he'd like to explore with her. He balled her hair tightly in his first, tugging it gently as a sigh grazed his ear before he loosened his grip, pushing himself back up over her, his pace quickening, and their heart rates speeding up in time with the other as encouragement met his ears and begged him forward.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	26. Patronus Charms

**Chapter 26:** Patronus Charms

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hermione blinked her eyes open sleepily, a smile creeping onto her face as a flash of platinum blond entered her vision. Her head was turned towards him, but they were both on their backs, just a few inches apart; his fingers interlaced with hers between them under the sheets and his leg draped over hers. This was exactly how they'd sprawled out the night before after their romp; hot, exhausted and euphoric. They'd talked for a bit about nothing as their breathing had slowed and their minds had drifted back down from the clouds, before falling into the most restful sleep Hermione had remembered having in years.

She turned onto her side, her free hand coming to rest on his chest as he stirred beside her. She realized this might be the first time she'd woken up before him, which in her assumption was because she didn't think he slept much at all, but she wanted to take advantage of it. She watched as his chest rose slowly up and down, taking in the peaceful look on his face. She let her eyes travel south with a grin as her hand brushed softly over his stomach, his muscles tensing under her touch as he shifted again with a soft hum. The sheets were thrown haphazardly over his lower body, his leg poking out the side.

She ran her hand back up as he finally stretched his free arm above his head with another hum, turning his head towards her and meeting her gaze with heavy eyes, "What time is it?" he mumbled.

"No idea," she responded contentedly.

He turned his body towards her, pulling her against him and resting his chin on the top of her head, "Well then I'm in no rush to find out."

They lay there for a while longer in and out of sleep before Hermione finally pulled away from him, "You remember what you agreed to do today, right?" she asked with a proud smile.

He grumbled before replying, "Yes, I remember."

"Good, well I caught a glimpse of the clock and its eight-thirty. We might want to get a move on before breakfast is cleared."

"Eight thirty?" Draco repeated, "I don't think I've slept this late in years."

"Guess I must have worn you out last night," she said coyly as she slipped out of bed and he watched her naked form walk across the floor towards the bathroom.

"_You_ wore _me_ out? Come on now, Granger, let's give credit where credit is due," he called back indignantly as she winked, shutting the door behind her.

Draco threw the sheets off, stretching once more before he climbed out of bed to get ready for a day he was sure he would not enjoy.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The door to the Transfiguration classroom shut behind them as Hermione and Draco began moving desks out of the way to clear a good space to practice. She could tell Draco didn't have much faith in this session getting him any further along in successfully using the spell, but she felt quite the opposite. It had been a long time since he'd really tried and she wanted to think he was in a very different headspace now.

"Alright," she walked forward and grabbed his hands with her own with a deep breath, "It just takes concentration, positivity and a strong happy memory."

Draco stared back at her warily and she scrunched up her face and stuck out her tongue at him.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"Come on, relax, let loose," she laughed, shaking out his stiff arms.

"This is nonsense, shaking me around isn't going to make me produce a patronus," he said, feeling even sillier, which he didn't need in a moment where he already felt embarrassed that he knew he was about to spend the afternoon failing at something.

"Draco, you've got to relax," Hermione said, leaning up on her tiptoes and kissing him, "This spell's power comes from within. It comes from the joy and positivity in your heart. You'll never make it work if you hold onto this notion that this is a waste of time and that you're not good enough or strong enough to do it. Believe you can."

"Fine, fine," he said, trying to push out the negativity in his mind. This was already going to be a long day, the least he could do was try not to take out his frustrations on Hermione. He closed his eyes, "Here I am, letting go of all of the negativity and thinking about rainbows and unicorns."

"Don't be a prat," Hermione said with a small perturbed smile, "Okay, now I want you to keep your eyes closed for a moment. Think of the happiest memory you can. Let it fill every bit of you—"

"You mean like I did to you last night?" He quipped, "Ouch!"

Hermione had slapped him lightly on the arm, "Come on, Draco, now is a time to focus."

He sighed, "Well you told me to relax and I'm _trying_."

She ignored him, "See your memory in your head, think about it, let it play."

They stood there in silence and she watched as a small smile crept onto his lips, hopefully from the memory he was focusing on.

"Alright, now I want you to harness all of that positivity from your memory and cast the charm. With purpose."

She let his hands fall from hers and he grabbed the wand out of his robes, opening his eyes with determination and taking a deep breath before he raised his wand into the middle of the room, "_Expecto Patronum_!"

Blue wisps emitted from the tip of his wand, but just like the last time, they fizzled before materializing into anything more. He sighed again, "Well fuck."

"Okay how about we sit for five minutes and just put yourself right into your memory. Be there, let it happen, rewatch it, be it."

"We just tried that."

"Just for a moment. Now I want you to really be there. Here, sit down," she motioned him towards one of the student desks. He sat begrudgingly and she stepped back, hopping up on top of one of the other desks, "Now let's sit here in silence for five minutes. I'll watch the time, you just close your eyes and put yourself into your happy memory. Find that place where you're comfortable and relaxed and positive and be there."

He only eyed her for another moment before he closed his eyes, he'd agreed to this after all, he'd have to give it a real shot. And so they sat as Draco tried to picture himself as a part of his memory. _Be one with the memory_, he thought, trying not to be condescending even as he thought it. Hermione grabbed the book she'd brought with them from the desk next to her and pulled it open to the section on Patronus charms, checking her clock every so often as she read through the text, trying to think of some different methods that might help him if this didn't work.

"Okay," she said when the time elapsed, "Don't let your mind deviate from the place you're in, just stand and cast."

Draco stood and raised his wand, opening his eyes at the last minute before casting the incantation again.

But the results were the same.

"Hm, alright," Hermione said, "Take a seat again, let's talk this out."

Draco leaned against the desk closest to him, crossing his arms in defeat.

"Do you mind sharing what memory you're thinking of?"

"I was just trying to think back to when I was little, one evening I remember in particular, sitting in bed while my mother read me The Fountain of Fair Fortune. Something innocent and happy. Not muddled by anything else going on in my life."

"Tell me about the memory. Walk me through it."

"Well, I'm about six and I'm sitting there in bed with my toy snitch that's zooming around my head for me to catch every few seconds, my mother opens the door and asks if I'd like to hear a story and I get excited and say yes. She comes in and sits on the end of my bed with The Tales of Beetle the Bard and starts reading as I set the snitch on the nightstand and sit up to listen. The story's not long so she reads it in a few minutes and then tucks me in to go to sleep."

"What happens after that?"

"That's all I thought about, that's the memory."

"Yes, but right after that do you remember anything else about that night?"

"Similar to a lot of nights, she walks into the hall and my door clicks shut and I can hear my father berating her about reading to me and how I should be reading for myself because bedtime stories are for children."

"But you were six?" Hermione tilted her head to the side.

"Yes, and my father had ensured I could read by the time I was four and thought it was childish to expect my mother to read to me after that. They'd argue in whispers out in the hall back and forth for a minute before they would walk off down the hall to their room."

"So maybe the reason that memory isn't working for the Patronus charm is that it's not entirely encompassed by pure happiness," Hermione said, "I was reading here that even if a memory is happy, sometimes the setting around the memory or the negative impact of things happening directly before or after can cause it to be ineffective if those events have left as deep of an impression as the happy memory. It sounds like this was a recurring happy memory that has a recurring negative event directly after, so perhaps that's why it's not working."

"It's the happiest moment I've got from my childhood, the other happy memories I thought of were all a bit selfish or vain and they didn't feel pure enough to begin with; getting expensive gifts, attending fancy events, things like that which are inherently happy memories but negated by privilege."

Hermione couldn't disagree with those memories not being powerful enough to try so she flipped her book open and skimmed the next few pages, "It looks like maybe early childhood memories in general can be tough to produce a patronus because they're not ingrained enough in your mind. We see snippets as opposed to full scenes or memories to pull happiness from," she closed the book, "In other words although you see your mother reading to you, you can't hear the words she's saying in your mind because your brain didn't retain that information from so long ago, just the image that it happened and the general circumstances."

"Alright, well…" his face scrunched up a little as he sat in thought, "What kind of memory does your book say I should draw from then?"

"Something you can feel to your bone. Something you can see and hear and pull the positivity from. So real you can almost touch it. Is there anything in your more recent memory that you can draw from? After the war maybe? You and your mother being exonerated in your trials and seeing a second chance ahead, being accepted to work with a renowned potions master doing something you're passionate about, being welcomed back to Hogwarts? Think of something pivotal that's happened and changed your way of thinking. Something that pulled you out of the dark."

Draco looked up to meet her eye. She looked so genuinely engaged in helping him through this; So determined for him to accomplish something that had been weighing on him as a failure. And for no other reason than because she cared for him; She wanted to see him succeed.

"Yeah, okay, let me try something different," he said, his voice oddly more relaxed. He stood up from the chair and walked over to her, placing his hands on either side of her on the desk as she looked questioningly back at him before he pressed his lips to hers. It was soft and there was no need behind it; nothing he was trying to gain, nowhere he was trying to get. It was just a loving gesture of affection. She raised her hands to cup his cheeks, sighing inaudibly as his head tilted in the other direction and he kissed her again, letting his mind clear, letting himself be here in the moment.

He stepped back with a grin, pulling his wand from his robes and he cleared his throat, pointing his wand towards the middle of the room as he let the new memory he'd chosen fill his thoughts, "_Expecto Patronum_!"

The blue wisps came more forcefully out of his wand, materializing together into a rough, blurred shape. It flew through the air, doing a somersault of sorts before it fizzled again.

"Did you see what it was?!" He asked, his voice full of surprise and excitement, "I didn't quite catch it, I don't think it was full form, but it was definitely something."

"It was definitely something!" She beamed, "I think if you keep working at it, we're going to get there. That was such great improvement. How about you sit and think for five minutes again. Think hard on your new memory, be one with it, and try again."

Draco sat, a grin etched on his face, and put himself into his memory before trying again. He went through the process eight or nine more times, each one clearer than the last, thinking deeper on his memory with each reflection period and smiling broader with each try. Finally, another hour or two later, it happened.

He was exhausted, his energy was draining, but his adrenaline from the progress was absolutely soaring. He felt one with the memory; Like he could see every detail in his mind, hear every inflection on every word, drink in the sensations around him. He pointed his wand into the room and cast the spell once more with everything he had, "_Expecto Patronum_!"

Out soared a dragon- a Chinese Fireball, from the looks of it - wings spread proudly and mouth open as blue flames protruded from its mouth. Draco's lips broke into an uncharacteristic smile of elation as he whipped his wand around and the Dragon flew through the classroom. Hermione was jumping up and down and clapping next to him and they watched together as it flipped midair and glided back towards them, dissipating as Draco lowered his wand.

"My patronus is a dragon," he said matter-of-factly, turning his head towards her with a smug smile on his face, "I know what my patronus is, and it's a bloody fire-spitting dragon."

Hermione jumped on him as he caught her around the middle and she kissed him fiercely. He laughed as they broke apart and he set her down, "Thank you for your help today. I couldn't have done this without you."

"What was your memory?" She'd been wanting to ask for hours but his momentum and progress had been so fluid since he'd reconsidered his approach that she'd let him flow with it without interrupting except when giving pointers or reading out excerpts from her book that might help.

"You," he said simply, "That first night you came to my room and told me you'd been falling for me all year. The night I kissed you for the first time. The night everything felt like it turned around and like there was something worth living for. _Really_ living life for. A reason to be a better person, to push myself harder, to work through my darkness instead of falling back on it when I don't want to push anymore. I thought of that moment that you told me you wanted to know me and understand me and explore this connection we had. You made me feel like more than who my past had set me up to be. It was the first time I felt like I could be more than just an ex-death eater."

Hermione felt the corners of her eyes wet but she blinked it back, pulling him back down to her for a sufficient snog at his sweet words. When she finally pulled back she ran her thumb down his cheek, "I hope you know I still stand by everything I said that night. I still want to continue learning everything that makes you who you are and I'm still absolutely invigorated by exploring the connection I have with you."

"Well _that_ I certainly know," he gave her a very Draco-esque smirk and she couldn't help her very Hermione-esque eye roll.

"So are you ready to teach the Patronus charm to the students next week?"

"Well first I'm ready to beat you in a duel _this_ week, and then I'll be ready to teach this lovely spell I just learned," he said, stealing one more kiss.

"Good luck with that first part," she replied airily before they began righting to room to call it a day.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

However, as luck would have it, Draco _did_ win the duel that week, bringing their scoreboard to 2-2. He'd bested Hermione with a strong Confundus charm that had caused her to aim her next jinx at the book shelf as Draco slipped behind her with an _Expelliarmus_. She'd laughed at his tactic, a solid plan if she'd ever seen one. As they'd grown closer they'd learned each other's train of thought and the duels had gotten longer as they anticipated the next moves. This had forced them both to spend the rest of that Sunday apart, studying dueling techniques they could surprise each other with. This time, Draco's had panned out and Hermione vowed to get him back at the end of March.

They'd told the students about their decision to teach the Patronus charm and a buzz of excited whispers had broken out that had been hard to quell. Some were nervous about the complexity, but every one of them couldn't stop talking about what they thought their patronus might be and how long they thought it would take to master.

The first meeting on patronus charms was held the next week and they had been decently surprised to walk in to an extra ten students or so. The theater room felt packed, but packed with students who were excited to learn. That meeting included a lot of instruction from Hermione and Draco on wand movements, techniques, memories and theory. However no one had seemed to mind the lecture as they soaked in the ins and outs of the spell.

Draco had shown the spell first, as Hermione insisted — he'd spent the last week practicing it a few times a day and it felt almost second nature now to pull from the feelings that memories of Hermione sent through him and cast that force into his dragon.

Hermione had sent her otter out to join his dragon and they'd floated joyfully around the room for a minute as the students oo'd and ah'd.

There had been some blue wisps that day, but no fully formed patronuses, as anticipated. But none of the students seemed put off, if anything, they seemed determined as they filed out of the room that evening, talking about the kinds of memories they were pulling from and what they'd try next time.

As they wandered back towards the dungeons, Draco grabbed her hand to swing lightly with his, "My mother sent a letter that she's available next weekend to meet us in Hogsmeade," he told her, looking sideways at her and keeping his voice even.

"Oh," Hermione said with surprise. She knew this was coming sooner or later but it had slipped her mind for the last few weeks as everything else had played out, "Wonderful, well, we'll meet your mother next weekend then," she gave him a reassuring smile that he returned as best he could.

He was nervous, but mostly nervous just to get it out of the way and have them meet. It had been a couple of weeks now since his father's message and it would be almost a month since then by the time she actually did meet his mother. He just hoped Lucius would stay out of it long enough for them to get past this hump.

"Great, I'll send her a response then. She's going out to Nice this weekend with Mrs. Parkinson or else she'd have come sooner."

"No matter," Hermione said, "Next weekend works just as well. This will be good. Though I do think you should tell her it's me she's meeting."

Draco was quiet for a moment, "I keep going back and forth as to what would go smoother."

"I think letting her handle the shock in private and prepare for our public outing would probably be best."

Draco internally debated this for another few seconds before he conceded, "Yes, yes you're probably right. I'll tell her before our meeting."

"Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger, good evening," McGonagall was walking through the entrance hall as they entered from the stairs.

"Good evening headmistress," Hermione smiled and Draco nodded in greeting as they all stopped in the middle of the hall.

"I heard you're working on Patronus charms in the dueling club?" She sounded interested.

"Yes, we thought it would be something advanced that they could really take with them from the club," Hermione told her, "It's not exactly dueling, but it's still a form of protection."

"A wonderful thing to learn, especially at this age. What a great idea. And Mr. Malfoy, am I correct in hearing that your patronus is a dragon?"

"Word certainly does travel fast," he quipped with a grin.

"Ah yes, well I just passed Patrick Willoughby heading down to the Hufflepuff common room and he stopped to tell me all about it."

Hermione laughed, "I'm sure he did, he's an excitable one."

"Well I can't wait to hear how it goes. Anyway, I am off to bed," she patted Hermione on the shoulder as she walked past them towards the staircases.

They began walking forward towards the dungeons when McGonagall's voice chimed in again.

"Ms. Granger, I believe Gryffindor Tower is the other way," she said with a certain amused inflection in her voice and a twinkle in her eye.

"Right, of course," Hermione said, feeling her cheeks tinge pink. She leaned up and kissed Draco quickly on the cheek, "Goodnight."

Draco tried to stifle his laugh, "Goodnight," he called as she followed McGonagall up the stairs and he turned back for the dungeons with a sigh. McGonagall had stressed that only engaged or married couples were supposed to be living or spending the night together as professors when they'd had their meeting, but she'd said it in a way where it was clear she knew that wouldn't always be the case. However when they were so blatantly headed to the same room together after curfew, he was sure she felt it was her obligation to remind them of the rules. He skipped down the steps as he descended, eager to get through the next couple of weeks.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	27. The Three Broomsticks

**Chapter 27:** The Three Broomsticks

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Whether it was the anticipation of their meeting with his mother, the full swing his classes were in, or the amount of time spent prepping for the Dueling club meetings, the next week and a half _did_ fly by. Most of the older students had gotten some sort of shape to come out of their wands when practicing the Patronus charm in the last meeting - still no fully formed patronuses - but a vast improvement and a sign that they were on the horizon of success. Of the older students, Gabriel and Christian seemed to be struggling the most and Draco had made a mental note to try and work with them a little more at the meetings.

Today, however, was Saturday. Today, he and Hermione would walk the path to Hogsmeade and meet his mother at The Three Broomsticks. Draco had waited until the last possible moment - Thursday evening - to send the message to his mother about who his girlfriend was, although Hermione had reminded him a few times. He'd waited purposefully, however, as he hadn't wanted her to have the time to put it in one of her letters to Lucius and receive a response from him. Even if she'd written him already, there's no way she could have heard back by Saturday morning with the time it took the owls to get to Azkaban. And he hadn't heard back from her either, since his message Thursday evening, so he just had to trust she'd received his message, had digested it, and would be meeting them as planned.

Hermione was glad he'd finally told Narcissa that they would be meeting, though she'd asked him to do it a while ago now and wasn't sure why he hadn't until just two days prior, but it was done and they were on their way to the village. She knew today would be uncomfortable; how could it not be with her history with the Malfoys? But Narcissa had been pivotal in Harry's survival during the Battle of Hogwarts and she knew, as well as any of them, things could have been much different without her lie to Voldemort. So, like Harry, she was willing to give her a second chance and try to view it as just meeting her boyfriend's mother for the first time. She could tell Draco was nervous, too, though he was playing it off surprisingly well that this was as normal as ever to try and ease her worries.

They entered the town, the wind whipping down the narrow street on a particularly cold and gray March afternoon. Hermione did her best to wrangle her hair to keep it out of her face as they passed by warm store fronts on their walk to The Three Broomsticks. The walk felt longer than normal, but her head had been going through every possible scenario of this meeting, even as she kept up conversation with Draco, who was animatedly telling her about the form Zachary's patronus had started to take when he'd been working with him in their last meeting. It had been rather skinny and long and Draco was convinced it was a snake, though he couldn't imagine how a Gryffindor would end up with a snake patronus. Or Perhaps it wasn't a snake, it could easily have just been a trick of the eyes.

His excitement for learning and teaching the Patronus charm radiated from him every time they talked about it and she couldn't help but smile as she listened to him. They'd finally reached the door to The Three Broomsticks and Draco pulled it open, ushering her inside before following her in.

He looked around, spotting his mother in the far back, sitting stiffly with a teacup clenched in her hands. He could tell right away that she was anxious, even from the other side of the establishment, but this was going to happen regardless so he grabbed Hermione's hand with a reassuring look and led the way forward.

Narcissa noticed them as they approached the table and forced a thin smile onto her lips, standing gracefully and greeting Draco with a kiss on each cheek, "Good morning, son," she said a bit formally before turning to Hermione. There was a brief moment where they stared at each other, both trying to figure out how one greets someone they have such a profound, conflicted history with.

"Mother, I'd like for you to meet my girlfriend, Hermione," Draco took it upon himself to dispel the silence that had fallen.

Hermione registered her first name coming from his mouth somewhere in the back of her head but there were too many other thoughts to process it fully. She put her hand out confidently to follow up his introduction, "Narcissa, it's nice to officially meet you."

Narcissa cupped her hand with both of hers in a purposeful gesture, "And you as well, Hermione."

Narcissa sat and Draco pulled out the chair for Hermione before moving to the one adjacent to it.

"Draco, could you actually just give us a few minutes," Narcissa said as she clasped her hands on the table, "You didn't give me much warning as to what I was about to step into, and I feel it's best for Hermione and I to address the Hippogriff in the room before we sit down to lunch."

Draco looked over at Hermione who nodded at him and he gave his mother another look, "Alright, I'll order us a couple of butterbeers from the bar and I'll be back."

He pushed his chair back in and headed back to the front of the restaurant, hoping whatever conversation was about to ensue was a productive one.

Once they were alone again, Narcissa looked back at Hermione, her eyes boring through her, "I'd like to acknowledge that your experience with with me up until this point is not a positive one," she began, "And our family's history is obviously complicated, at best, when it comes to your kind."

"Muggleborns," Hermione said strongly, not being a fan of the term she'd chosen.

Narcissa shifted uncomfortably, "Yes, sorry, muggleborns. Obviously the Malfoy, and Black, families have had a history of unfortunate relationships with muggleborns. One that I'm not proud of. One that dates back generations, not that it makes it any better, but it's been long rooted in our families that purebloods marry purebloods and anything else would be unacceptable. Clearly the war shed a lot of light on that way of thinking and I've spent the last five years reconsidering everything I was raised to accept. As has Draco, of course."

Hermione just listened, still unsure if she knew where this conversation was going or not.

"Regardless of everything you know about Lucius, when we were younger, he was a charming man, smooth and sweet, and politics - or morals, I guess you could say - never even came up in conversation until I'd already fallen head over heels for the man I'd met. I never outwardly denounced muggleborns in the way that he did, although you could say I depicted a silent acceptance of those beliefs, and of course you know I stayed by his side during the war, so I'm not trying to relieve myself of what guilt I deserve on that matter, just trying to paint you a fuller picture. It's important for me to explain that it wasn't the dark arts, nor my own need for blood purity that I stood by the Dark Lord for, it was my love for Lucius. It was my love for my family and my devotion to do whatever it took to keep that family whole and safe. But all that is over now and we are a changed family. Lucius is doing his time and from our correspondences, it seems he is doing well and eager to come back home, so I am sure he has grown from his experience and I look forward to the conversations we have upon his return about how we, as the Malfoys, can give back to the wizarding world."

"Has he mentioned in his letters that his views are changing? That he acknowledges that muggleborns and muggles have as much value as wizards?" Hermione kept her tone neutral, truly curious if Lucius had vocalized a change of heart since in her last conversation with Draco about him, he seemed to think his father would still be a challenge to their relationship.

Narcissa paused for a moment to take in the strong woman across from her. "We haven't talked much in our letters about personal views or politics, honestly. I wish we had now that you and I are having this conversation so that I could say more definitively. I just always try to keep our correspondences light and positive since he's exposed to so much despair in Azkaban with the dementors. But here and there I've told him about some of the things I've done to provoke change in myself — books I've read to educate myself on issues, talks I've had with our close friends who've had similar experiences, things like that. And of course I've mentioned the change I've seen in Draco to grow and pull himself back up from the dark. So I think he must know we're focused on moving forward. I've seen the error in our ways, as I'm sure Lucius has as well, and we're going to put in the work to change what's associated with the Malfoy name."

Hermione nodded as she realized Narcissa was just projecting her own growth onto Lucius without any real proof that there had been any. And maybe there had, it was possible, but without any written evidence of an acknowledgement that his views were wrong, it was hard for Hermione to fully believe he would take all of this quite as seriously as she was; that he would be open to a Malfoy dating a muggleborn.

"You know, I was always closer with my sister Andromeda than Bellatrix up until I started seeing Lucius and she gave me an ultimatum between them," Narcissa noted, pulling Hermione's focus back to their conversation, "I've reconnected with her recently, though Lucius will always be a point of contention. She's helped me to learn to grow, despite our upbringing, and see other perspectives. I'm hoping his return doesn't cause another rift in our relationship, but I think it's stronger than it has been in a long time," Narcissa was looking off as if a bit lost in her thoughts before she blinked a few times, turning back, "And Draco has done so much to make himself a better person and a well-respected professor. I support him, as Lucius will as well. And if it's you he loves, I need you to understand that I support that. I want there to be no question in your mind as to how I feel about my son dating a muggleborn. I accept you as I would any other worthy woman. And from what I know about you, you are just that."

Hermione knew Narcissa had likely been thinking about what she wanted to say for the last couple of days and was appreciative that it at least seemed important to her to clear the air. That was a good sign, "I'm happy to hear you've taken some time to reflect on the past and have been open to change. I've seen it in Draco since the moment he returned to school. I know his past and what he was a part of, but I see who he is now, and I love him for the changes he made."

"We were a part of some truly terrible things," Narcissa said, her voice quivering almost unnoticeably, "And some of those things directly involved _you_. So I'd like to follow up that statement with an apology."

"You don't have-"

"I do have to," Narcissa cut her off, "I'm sorry you were a prisoner in our home. And I'm sorry for what my sister did to you," her eyes glanced down at Hermione's arm, which was fully covered by her jacket at the moment, "Those things that happened that night, I'm sure they will stay with you forever. How could they not. To know we were a part of something that you'll carry with you for the rest of your life is something that I will have to come to terms with, should you and Draco continue to date. As of now, it's incredibly difficult to sit here with my head high knowing what your memories of me include. But that is a burden far less than what you bear."

"You weren't the one holding the knife," Hermione stated, "I know that."

"And we didn't stop it, either. I honestly don't know how you have it in you to even sit across from me like you are. I don't think that I would be able to do the same in your position."

"Forgiveness and compassion are a fickle thing," Hermione responded, "I've spent years reflecting on my experiences in the war, as you have, and I know where I place my blame and I know who I saw making the right decisions in the end, even if they were a little late. And I know in my heart who deserves a second chance. Draco didn't give us away when we were at the manor even though he recognized us, and you lied to Voldemort-" Narcissa couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips at the name, "-in the moments that mattered most. I've seen the change in Draco and perhaps there will be chances for you and I to sit down and reacquaint over time and I can see the change in you as well."

"I hope we do get that time," Narcissa replied, her glance shifting behind Hermione as Draco returned to the table with two butterbeers.

"Can I sit now?" he asked.

"Yes," Narcissa gestured to his chair as he set the drinks down on the table.

"So did you have a nice chat then?" he asked as he looked between them to figure out the vibe.

"Yes, thank you, I just had some things I needed to say to hopefully turn our past to a new page now that you're dating," Narcissa said, giving Hermione a small smile that she returned.

"Wonderful," Draco said, trying to shift the mood, "So mother, how was Nice?"

"Cold," she sighed, "But beautiful, as always. We stayed at the Parkinson's villa in the wizarding community outside of town."

"And how are the Parkinsons?"

"Very well. They were saying they thought they might meet Pansy's boyfriend soon. Sounds like things are getting pretty serious."

"Granger actually went out with her a couple weeks ago," Draco said, looking over at her, "She was still seeing the Wasps player then?"

"Yes, his name's Nev. She seemed quite smitten."

"That's nice you had a chance to sit down with Pansy," Narcissa said, "She's a sweet girl."

Hermione had an awkward moment of internally acknowledging that her boyfriend's mother was now talking about what a nice girl his ex-girlfriend was.

"So, Hermione," Narcissa started, looking like she was trying to decide how to phrase her next question, "What is it that… your parents do?"

_Ah, trying to figure out how to ask about muggles_, "They're dentists. They tend to people's teeth. It's not quite as easy without magic."

"Teeth? I've never considered how that worked in the muggle world. My parents just did a quick charm on my teeth to straighten them when I was young, and the teeth cleaning spell is so easy I barely even think about my teeth."

"Yes they're always very impressed with my teeth now that I use magic to take care of them. Used to take a lot to impress them."

"I'm sure. So do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No, I'm an only child."

"Ah, yes, like Draco. Sometimes one is enough of a handful," she raised her eyebrow at Draco with a smile.

"I was a perfectly well-mannered child," he huffed.

"I doubt that for some reason," Hermione said smartly, taking a sip of her butterbeer and making sure to lick her top lip to lower her chances of a butterbeer mustache.

"As I heard it, you were top of the class, is that right?" Narcissa asked Hermione, hands back to coddling her teacup in what Hermione assumed was a comforting mechanism, as the cup was empty.

"I was, Draco was always right behind me, though."

"Oh yes, we kept tabs on his progress at school. Always very proud of his academic successes. And what do you teach at Hogwarts?"

"Transfiguration. I always enjoyed the complexity of it."

"It's a very precise art. Such a pivotal time in your life, to be taking over teaching positions and molding the minds of a new generation of witches and wizards. It's been going well so far?"

"Very much so. Draco and I also lead the school's Dueling Club."

"A little competition never hurt a good relationship," Narcissa quipped.

They spent the next hour or two at the Three Broomsticks with Narcissa. She seemed keen on asking Hermione all the details about herself that she could think of. It felt like she was trying to make a point that she'd left her bias in the past, but even if that was the case, it was still clear she cared to put the time in to get to know Hermione, whatever the motivation and it was a good first step.

As they left, Narcissa swooped down with a kiss on each cheek to Hermione, similar to her normal greetings to Draco before she pulled back, her hands still on Hermione's shoulders, "It was lovely having a chance to talk today. I do hope we do it again soon. Perhaps just the two of us sometime."

"That would be very nice," Hermione said, giving her a warm smile of appreciation.

"And Draco, I'll be getting an owl in the next month or so with the details of your father's release. I'd like for you to be there the weekend he comes home," she glanced quickly at Hermione before continuing, "But of course Lucius and I can meet you for dinner somewhere, perhaps, instead of at the Manor and Hermione can join us. I'd like to do something special for his homecoming."

Hermione tried not to make too much of a reaction at the mention of the Manor, simply breathing in a little deeper on her next inhale and keeping her gaze focused.

Draco felt his chest pull tight at the mention of his father as the words in his letter scrolled through his mind. He knew, unlike Narcissa and Hermione, that Lucius' views on muggleborns had not changed at all in Azkaban and that their meeting would be less than amicable if he even agreed to let it happen. He forced a smile, mentally preparing himself for the conversation he'd have to have with Hermione later to explain, "Granger, how would you feel about meeting with my father?"

"I'll be by your side" she said simply, not wanting to dampen Narcissa's positivity at having them all together with her disdain for Lucius, especially since she'd made a point that she wanted her there. She'd known this would happen eventually and she would do her best to be strong and try to give them each a chance to reconcile and move forward. Even Lucius. Besides, maybe he _had_ learned a thing or two in the last six years like Narcissa hoped.

Draco watched her an extra second for any sign of hesitance, but was instead met by a look of resilience. He turned back to Narcissa with a nod, "Alright, mother. We'll be in touch."

They'd returned to the castle that afternoon and had each pulled out a stack of student papers to grade as they settled in around the coffee table. Draco did his best to focus on his work even as the hypothetical conversations played in his mind. He knew Hermione had her seventh year essays to get through before he could bring it up, and so, he went on with the grading of his students' short essays on the Pepper-Up Potion and its strengths and weaknesses against common colds, stealing glances over at Hermione here and there as she furrowed her brows or made a humming noise, fingers drumming against the table as she considered a response, actions which were normally followed by the scratching of quill against paper as she made notes in the margins or crossed out a sentence. Draco's lip pulled up as he watched her, engrossed in her work, cute sighs falling from her lips, her full concentration on teaching and helping her students learn.

Hermione looked up, feeling his eyes on her, "What?" She said with a small smile.

"Nothing," he said airily, "Just enjoying the experience of watching you in your happy place."

"Well I've got about twelve more essays to get through, so enjoy the show."

He chuckled as she looked back down at the essay in her hands, shaking his head and returning to wherever he'd left off. The silence somehow felt comforting with her there and he relaxed into the couch to get some work done.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	28. Correspondences

**Chapter 28:** Correspondences

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Hermione sat staring at him, eyes blinking a little too quickly as she processed what he was saying; hopes of meeting a refined Lucius dissolving almost as soon as she'd considered them. Draco sat next to her on the couch, watching her, waiting for her reaction.

"Did Narcissa know?" She finally said.

"I don't think she did this morning. It's why I waited until the last minute to tell her about you. So she wouldn't have time to owl him and receive one back with his opinions. I wanted your first meeting to be as natural as possible and I just thought if I waited to tell you both, that it would be one less thing on everyone's mind."

She nodded, feeling like maybe she should be annoyed, but seeing the logic behind his decision to keep the information to himself, "Do you think it will change her interest in getting to know me? I thought today went well and it would really be a shame if Lucius could turn her so quickly. Before we had a chance to get to know each other more."

"I think the fact that she's met you now will make it more difficult for her to let his opinion overshadow her experience," he said with moderate confidence, "My mother loves my father very much, but she connects with people in a way that he does not. Not knowing you, perhaps she would let his opinion sway her to be less open to connecting with you, and maybe not, maybe I'm not giving her enough credit," he added in as an afterthought, "But since she's already started forming a connection with you, I think she's less likely to accept my father's opinions without presenting him with her experience and trying to get him to see reason."

"But he won't, will he?"

Draco paused before answering, "I don't think so. I think if six years in Azkaban haven't tuned him in to the error in his ways, I'm not sure my mother will be able to."

There was silence for another moment, "So what does that mean?"

"I don't know," Draco said honestly, "If he'll meet with us, I think we should, if you're still willing, knowing where he stands."

"I haven't changed my mind."

Draco noticed her voice didn't waver. She was sticking by her decision and he nodded, "Alright, then I think we give it one good attempt to clear the air. For him to realize that you're more than good enough for me — too good for me, if we're taking my opinion into account here — and we see what he says. I had hoped before all this that Azkaban would change him. I've already seen the evidence that it hasn't, but I feel I need to give him his chance to realize he's wrong. Maybe talking in person would help. And if not, at least everything will be on the table and my mother will see he's never going to change and we can go forward from there in some way."

"I'll stand by your side and I'll keep my head high. It's not going to be pleasant, knowing already that he doesn't think we should be dating based solely on my blood status, but I think we have to show a united front to him to get him to understand that this is happening with or without his approval. We'll get through it."

"I know," Draco said quietly, "I'm sorry to even have to ask you to come face to face with my father after everything he's done."

"We handle these things together," she said, taking his hand, "And maybe Narcissa will talk some sense into him between now and then. You never know."

Draco gave her a weak smile at her optimism, "Right, maybe."

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"She's got it!"

"Whoa, look!"

"Awesome!"

Draco and Hermione's heads swiveled as shouts of excitement met their ears about an hour into the Dueling Club meeting Tuesday evening. Hermione's lips broke into a smile as she watched a silver fox run joyfully around the room.

"Well done, Fiona!" she clapped and everyone else joined in, whooping and cheering for the first patronus to materialize in the club. Fiona lowered her wand as the fox disappeared, looking smugly ecstatic, similar to how Draco had looked when he'd finally succeeded. Her classmates crowded around her, patting her on the back and asking what it felt like.

"It seems so simply now, really," she responded, tossing her hair over her shoulder as Marielle pushed through the students and flung her arms around Fiona's neck.

"That was amazing!" she gushed, stepping back, her hands grabbing Fiona's and squeezing them lightly as Fiona's smugness all but dissolved and they shared an excited giggle between them.

Hermione and Draco had joined the crowd now and Draco waved a hand above his head with a whistle, "Alright everyone, give Fiona some air," he said as the group all backed up a few paces and turned to the professors, "Great job, Fiona. How does it feel to know your patronus is a fox?"

"It feels right," she said with a contented nod, a sparkle prominently in her eye.

"And do you have any tips you can share with everyone else about what helped you produce your patronus?"

Fiona turned to her classmates, not at all one to downplay the theatrics of the situation, "I just thought of a memory that gave me pure happiness. I let myself be totally a part of that memory, focusing on the thoughts I had in that moment, the sensations I felt, the things that I could smell and see and feel, and I threw all that positivity into the spell. I think before, I was remembering the memory, but I wasn't letting it be a part of my moment. I could replay it, but I wasn't there. You just need to tune out everything else that's going on in this room and just be with your thoughts and your memory and let that guide you."

"Very well said," Hermione said sincerely, "Alright, with those words of advice, everyone back to your spots and let's take two minutes of quiet time for everyone to center themselves again and then we'll restart our practicing.

The club was only slotted for two hours, backing up to within half an hour of curfew. But tonight, as the end of the meeting came closer, no one had any intention of calling it a night. Sixteen more students had produced a patronus in the last half hour. So many had been close before Fiona's success and it had seemed to pull out the confidence some of the others needed to cross that threshold. After Fiona, Zachary had been the next success when a fully formed electric eel erupted from his wand, not a snake as Draco had originally thought. The tally of successful patronuses so far included ten of the seventh year students, a few of the sixth years, Zachary and Marcus from Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw boy, two fifth year girls, a Ravenclaw and Slytherin, and a third year Hufflepuff boy.

Draco and Hermione reconvened to decide if they should round everyone up to call it a night, but another outcry of excitement caught their attention as they looked over and saw a dolphin jumping about the room as everyone looked around to figure out who cast it. There was a half second of silence as all eyes fell on Patrick, arm outstretched as he watched the patronus follow his wand movements. Draco and Hermione shared a look of shock before the noise level in the room picked up all at once with words of congratulations as everyone crowded around Patrick, as they had with each other student who had been successful so far.

"Maybe we just let them practice up until curfew," Draco suggested with a grin as they walked over to join the group.

By the time curfew hit, there were nine more students that joined the ranks of those who cast successful patronuses, which were floating all over the room. All of the seventh years and the majority of the sixth years, with the exception of Gabriel, Christian and a Hufflepuff girl named Coraline, had mastered the spell with a handful of the lower class years on their heels.

Draco whistled loudly and the attention in the room turned to the front with disappointed looks, knowing they were likely ending for the day.

"Alright everyone," Hermione called, "We've gone as late as we possibly could tonight, but it's time for everyone to get back to your common rooms as quickly as you can! We've seen such amazing progress tonight with at least a third of you completing successful attempts. Next week will finish out our month on the Patronus charm and after that point, if you'd like to keep working on the spell individually, feel free to reach out to myself or Professor Malfoy and we can try some one-on-one or small group meetings. Given we're going to continue with Patronus charms next week, we will be postponing our monthly duels until the week following."

"That said, off to bed with you!" Draco concluded as everyone started grabbing their belongings and waving as they filed out of the room to get back to their common rooms before prefects caught them out of bed after curfew.

Hermione and Draco returned to the dungeons together that evening, high from the excitement of the meeting. They were recollecting the patronuses they could remember as the door clicked shut behind them, still in awe that Patrick had mastered the spell even before a lot of the older students. They shrugged off their teaching robes and hung them by the door, Hermione's long skirt underneath flowing as they turned for the couches, but their conversation was interrupted by an abrupt pecking at the window as Hermione paused mid-sentence and they stopped in the middle of the living room, heads turning towards the offending noise.

"That'll probably be your mum," Hermione said with a strained voice.

Narcissa had sent a message on Monday that she had, indeed, owled Lucius the Thursday prior to tell him that Draco was dating Hermione and had received a very displeased owl back that Sunday morning. Narcissa had owled Draco, chiding him about keeping her in the dark and asking if he intended to speak with his father and how he planned to handle the situation before she responded back to Lucius. Draco had sent an owl back Monday night promising to finally send Lucius a response and that they should all meet once he was released. He'd asked his mother to let him correspond with Lucius before she did and to keep an open mind, regardless of his opinions. He'd ensured to include in the message that Hermione had enjoyed getting to know her and sent along her well-wishes.

Draco walked over to the window, opening it and removing the message from the owl's leg as Hermione grabbed a few pellets of owl feed from the jar on the shelf and fed them to the grateful bird. Draco walked over to the couch, unrolling the parchment and sitting down to read. He was silent as his eyes scanned the page, barely aware of Hermione sinking into the couch cushion next to him to read over his shoulder.

_Draco,_

_I will let you correspond with your father to make a decision of how to work through this before I respond back to him. Please do so without haste as I don't like to go too long between messages. Of course I was disappointed to hear his reaction, but he is still my husband, and your father, and I do believe we all need to convene before any drastic words are exchanged. His opinions will not overshadow the lovely woman I met on Saturday, as I would hope you would already know. Please send my regards to Hermione._

_With Love,_

_Narcissa_

Hermione let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding as she read, "Well, that's good at least that it didn't seem to change her mind about me. At least not yet with him still in Azkaban."

"I'm still not quite sure what to say to my father," Draco sighed, "I know I told her I'd respond to him soon, but I have no idea how to say what I want to say in a respectful and productive way."

"I can talk it out with you," Hermione suggested, "Or if it's something personal you need to do, I would understand."

"Well it involves you so it doesn't feel fair not to let you be a part of formulating the response. I'll think about it overnight and tomorrow we can sit down together and talk through it to draft something."

Hermione saw the dejected look in his eye at how his family was handling their relationship and she took his mother's letter from his hands and set it on the coffee table before taking both of his hands in hers, "This is uncomfortable. We knew it was going to be. But we can talk about this stuff. We can navigate it, okay? I know you wish things had been different, but this is the hand we've been dealt and we're going to play a hell of a game with it."

Draco let out a chuckle, "You're a little blindly positive sometimes, you know that, don't you?"

"Well it counteracts your negativity, so you're welcome," these issues were going to come up and they needed to learn to acknowledge and deal with them, and also to put them down and keep living their life without a constant cloud over their heads.

He looked at her wryly before he broke one of his hands away and lifted it to the back of her neck, pulling her forward slowly and capturing her lips, letting his breath heavily out of his nose, "I love your blind positivity. It's refreshing."

She grinned, their eyes locking for a brief moment before they both closed again and their lips were back together. Hermione's free hand moved gently along Draco's leg as he caught her bottom lip between his and nibbled it lightly, enjoying the feeling of her hand traveling along the outside of his pants and curious where it might venture next as he felt himself becoming more aroused the higher it moved. All thoughts of the letters with his parents were vanishing as they were replaced with much more vivid thoughts involving the girl in front of him.

Hermione, however, had just meant it in a comforting gesture and around mid-thigh, her hand turned course and moved back down to his knee as she took in the sensation of his soft lips against hers and the warmth his hand brought to her neck. After a few more lingering kisses she pulled back looking contented that he'd let himself cheer up a bit, "I'm going to make some tea for us before bed."

Draco watched her walk towards the kitchen, confused at first as he realized she hadn't even been trying to get him in the mood. The only problem was that now he _was_ in the mood. His look of confusion slowly turned into a devious smile as he pushed himself off the couch and followed her.

She was reaching up for the tin of tea leaves in the cupboard when he wrapped his arms around her from behind. She jumped a bit in shock, not hearing his stealthy entrance to the kitchen before she laughed. His hand moved the hair on her shoulder to the side so he could reach the skin below. He started planting kisses down her neck as she lowered her hands from the cupboard and placed them on the counter in front of her.

"And what exactly do you think you're doing?" She asked slyly.

"I believe I'm taking advantage of you in the kitchen," he responded between kisses, his hand moving to the zipper on her skirt, unzipping it slowly as she processed his actions.

"And what makes you think I want to be taken advantage of?" She said matter-of-factly as though this wasn't something they'd talked about when he'd badgered her about what kinds of sexual experiences she'd like to explore.

"The fact that your skirt is on the floor and you haven't moved," he said in a low voice that gave her goosebumps, his lips moving to her collarbone.

"Maybe I just wanted some tea and an early night in bed." His hands were slipping the straps of her top off as he kissed across her shoulder and it took everything in her not to melt onto the floor.

"Just say 'flobberworm' if you really want me to stop," he said, practically smirking against her skin as she fell silent, "That's what I thought," he pulled her shirt up and she lifted her arms for it to come off. She went to turn around but he held her firmly in place, "I think right here is good, if you're not opposed."

"Oh," she felt her heart rate elevating, he was going to take her right there in the kitchen against the counter, "Yes, right here is just fine," she breathed.

She let her underwear fall to the ground as he stepped back a few inches to remove his own clothes. It was almost shocking how quickly he could disrobe when she was naked, but she wasn't at all upset by it as she felt him press against her again. He tilted her head to the side and recaptured her lips as she moved her legs a bit apart subconsciously.

"I love you," he said in her ear as he pressed himself into her slowly, her head falling back onto his shoulder with a gasp as he worked his way in and out of her warmth until he filled her completely.

"I love you too, Draco," she whispered, one arm snaking around the back of his neck as he pushed her flush against the kitchen counter and a moan escaped her lips. She let her mind blank and felt herself meld together with him in a beautiful, sporadic moment of passion.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"So what did you write to your father?" Harry asked as he and Draco were walking back from Hogsmeade on Friday night, Hermione and Ginny spending the evening catching up over cappuccino in her room.

"Well I told Granger all the things I'd like to say about telling him to leave his bigoted bullshit where it belongs, buried with the Dark Lord, and to be a man and own his mistakes and grow from them instead of acting like a child."

"I'm guessing she helped you make that sound a bit less angry and a bit more 'let's give ourselves a fresh start'?"

He shot him a crooked smile, "Yes, she's much better with words than I am. I wrote him and told him I'm happy and that he needs to respect how I chose to move forward with my life. I reiterated that Granger is well respected in the wizarding world, incredibly intelligent and that I care for her very much. And I suggested we all sit down so he can get to know her and try to see past his predisposed notions when he arrives back home."

Harry nodded as he thought for a moment, "Do you think he will?"

"I'd be surprised if he sits down with us willingly. My mother will probably talk him into it, though. And it probably will not go well."

"But at least then you can say you tried?"

He met Harry's question with a heavy sigh, "At least then we can say we tried. I just don't know what my mother will do once she realizes we're not going to find common ground."

"But I mean… she knows Lucius," Harry said uneasily, "She must know he's not going to come around to this. She must be thinking about that already."

"She's always wanted to see the best in him, no matter what he did. I'm sure in her mind she's reassuring herself that he just needs to come back out and be a part of what he's been sarcastically calling the 'new world' before he comes to his senses and starts moving forward like everyone else and accepting the things he hasn't in the past."

"So it might be a bit of a shock to her as well if it doesn't go well."

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Was Hermione pretty open to meeting with Lucius?"

"She knows I'll have to deal with him so she wants to be a part of it. I'm not sure _she_ even knows what she's getting herself into."

"Well if he tries to give her any crap, at least you know she'll give it back with even more sting and grace."

"She just shouldn't even have to come face to face with him again," Draco said darkly, "She literally fought against him at the Ministry of Magic. You all did. Not to mention all the other stuff that I was present for as well. I can't help feeling guilty about what being with me means for her."

"It means she's happy, Malfoy," Harry said simply with a shrug as Draco looked over at him flatly, "I'm not kidding. She's the happiest I've ever seen her. Like a giddy school girl when we talk about you. And I can promise you I've never seen her talk about anyone like that in the twelve years I've known her."

"She gives me too much credit then."

"And you don't give yourself enough," Harry patted him on the back as the final word as they reached the Entrance Hall, "Come on up and say hi to the girls?"

"Sure," Draco sighed with an appreciative smile back, dropping the previous conversation, "I think I've only been up to Gryffindor Tower once when I went to go find Granger during the holidays. We usually spend the nights in the dungeons to avoid any awkward run-ins."

"Well she hasn't unpacked much more since then so don't be shocked."

They chatted on their walk up before arriving at Hermione's door, which was open a crack already.

"Good evening," Harry announced their entrance as Hermione and Ginny, mid-laughter, looked up from their conversation, snuggled into the couch.

"Draco, you came up!" Hermione beamed at him, her eyes a bit glossy.

"What've you got in those cappuccinos?" He asked with a chuckle.

Hermione had jumped off the couch and was slinging her arms around his neck, her mug tipping precariously, "Well, after a cappuccino, Ginny suggested hot chocolate and then she said it would go great with some firewhiskey, and here we are!"

Draco grinned at her, leaning down for a kiss before he pulled back, mostly still nervous he was about to get doused with a hot beverage, and they walked over to the couch to join Harry and Ginny. Ginny had climbed onto Harry's lap at the far end and was talking animatedly about something as Hermione flopped down on the other side and Draco and Harry shared an amused look.

"I was telling Ginny that she and Harry should join us at the Alchemist Den with Pansy and Nev one night!" Hermione said, pulling Draco down to the couch with her, the four of them barely fit there together, but Hermione paid that no mind as she draped her legs over Draco, who had gotten the lucky middle seat. His hand moved to rest on her thigh, thoroughly enjoying what they'd stumbled upon.

"That would actually be a good time," Draco said, looking over at Harry with his eyebrows raised, "Fancy an evening in a blazer sipping cocktails and dancing?"

"Well that would certainly be different than our usual Saturday night."

"It sounds _fun_, doesn't it Harry!" Ginny said with a giggle, "We can have an extravagant meal, I'll put on a nice dress and you can spend the evening telling me I look _dashing_ as we blend with high society."

Draco could tell she thought it was a bit silly, but there was also something in her voice that sounded truly excited and intrigued.

"Well how could I say no to that," Harry answered with a grin, giving in much too easily as Ginny swooped down for a solid, exaggerated kiss.

Draco turned back to Hermione, who looked ecstatic, and he couldn't help but laugh, "Sounds like you'll have to send Pansy an owl and find a good weekend."

Harry and Draco had ended up pouring themselves drinks and joining Hermione and Ginny back around the coffee table as the four of them stayed up late into the night telling stories and making plans. Draco had glanced over at Ginny at one point and noticed she seemed so natural now, much more comfortable since they'd hung out a few times. He made himself a promise that he would pull her aside in the coming weeks and let her say anything that was on her mind one on one so that they could hopefully move forward in their friendship with a clean slate and enjoy all the plans that were being made over firewhiskey.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N:** Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! I've got the rest of the story written so I wanted to give you the update that we've got 3 chapters left! Working on editing so I can get it posted for you :)


	29. Nearing End of Term

**Chapter 29:** Nearing End of Term

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The following Tuesday closed out their month on Patronus charms and nearly all of the third year and above students had mastered the spell, excluding Christian Crabbe who had chalked it up to having too many distractions, and Gabriel, who had laughed it off, saying his patronus just didn't want to hang around a classroom. The first and second years had been asking Patrick for pointers as they continued their work on the spell, a few of them mastering it as well by the end of the evening. After the meeting, Gabriel and Christian had both lingered behind the rest of the students on the way out that evening and Gabriel had struck up conversation with Draco as Christian joined in while the professors cleaned up the theater hall. Hermione had given them some space, going to the other side of the room to gather her things. Draco had casually offered to give them both private lessons a few minutes into their conversation and they had looked relieved, shrugging and agreeing that he would be up for it if Draco had the extra time.

Draco had heard back from Lucius at the end of that week and his words were no more kind than his first letter. He'd chided Draco on going behind his back to introduce Hermione to Narcissa and had warned him that a meeting between the four of them would not yield the results Draco was hoping for. He noted he would be speaking with Narcissa more in detail about his feelings on their relationship when he returned home and told him that if he did not decide to change his mind on having a meeting, they would similarly hear his feelings in person.

Hermione had narrowed her eyes as she'd read the letter, unbelieving that he could be so stubborn about an opinion that had landed him in Azkaban for six years. She'd agreed to still go through with a meeting, knowing both Draco and Narcissa likely had to witness it in order to accept his unwillingness to change and make an informed decision of their own on how to deal with Lucius.

Draco had responded, insisting that a meeting was in everyone's best interest and asking that Lucius try to put his bias aside and come into the conversation with an open mind. He doubted he would, but he had to ask. For his mother. Lucius would be out of Azkaban at the end of May, near end of term in approximately two months.

Narcissa had sent another letter along as well, reassuring Draco that Lucius just needed to return home and reacclimate to society again and he would come around. Her hopes were unfounded, but genuine.

Draco was ashamed, to say the least, having Hermione read the letters from his father, but he wanted them to be open with each other and she deserved to know what she was walking into when it came to Lucius.

She could tell he had taken his father's words to heart as he walked around lacking his normal spark. It wasn't Draco's fault, but it certainly wasn't the warmest welcome she could receive from her boyfriend's parents. It took a couple of weeks, but without another letter from his father, Draco eventually dropped his sour mood and returned to his normal, confident self around her, something she could tell was only feigned recently.

"Pansy's gotten back to me with their availability," Hermione said, sitting down next to Draco at the Professors' table on a Friday afternoon in mid-April.

Ginny turned from her seat, "So when do we get to dine with the elite, then?"

"Oh stop it," Hermione said with a laugh, "She suggested next weekend or the weekend after."

"Let's do last weekend in April," Harry poked his head around the other side of Ginny, "Last Quidditch match of the season is Friday night, it'll be a great way to celebrate Saturday night if Gryffindor wins," he shot an almost unnoticeable wink at Draco.

"Or wallow in your self-pity when Slytherin beats them to the snitch," Draco said nonchalantly, turning from Harry with a shrug.

"Alright, I'll let her know we'll meet her and Nev the last Saturday of the month," she turned to Draco, "Best get a reservation for six for dinner."

"I'll send an owl," he nodded.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

April flew by as classes began reviewing material from the year to prepare for end of term exams coming up in May and June. Draco had been working with Gabriel and Christian the last couple of weeks privately on Wednesday nights and by the end of their third private lesson, Gabriel and Christian had both done it. Christian had gotten it first, an ox clambering out of his wand as Gabriel looked on with renewed determination. Another half an hour later, while Christian was on the other side of the room still watching his patronus rampage around, Gabriel finally found success. He'd cast the spell with everything he had, more focused than ever to make it happen and he'd watched almost unbelievingly as a Kangaroo hopped out of his wand and bounced energetically around the room, joining the ox, which ran towards it immediately, the patronuses doing a bit of a dance around each other. Christian whooped as he hopped off the desk, watching the opaque animals interact.

"Kick-ass kangaroo," he said to himself and Draco had laughed as Gabriel shook his head and looked over at him, not realizing how loud it had sounded in the small potions room, "Sorry professor, this is just really cool." He led his wand around the room as the kangaroo followed it until it hopped right up in front of him and he lowered his hand, the blue light fading as Christian lowered his, the ox fading similarly.

"Great job, Gabriel, told you it'd just take some practice," Draco commended the boy.

Christian ran over, raising his hand, "KICK-ASS KANGAROO!"

Gabriel laughed, high-fiving him as the boys immediately began talking about how they connected with their given patronuses and Draco looked on with a crooked smile. He'd somehow just aided in another Gryffindor/Slytherin friendship. They'd cast them a few more times that evening before they'd finally packed up and called it a night.

"Thanks for your help, Professor Malfoy," Gabriel said with genuine relief etched in his voice, "Zachary's been tearing the mickey out of me for not being able to produce one."

"Same with Fiona," Christian rolled his eyes, "Thanks, Professor."

"Of course. Happy I could help, you know, I'll actually tell you a secret, if you can keep it between us."

Both boys nodded, slinging their bags over their shoulders as they looked at him.

"I actually couldn't produce a patronus until a few months ago. I'd tried when I was younger and just — nothing. But Professor Granger helped me out when we decided we wanted to teach all of you and it finally clicked."

"No way," Christian said, "You're just trying to make us feel better."

"I'm being totally honest," Draco shook his head, "You both mastered this spell years before I did. So don't let them give you any shit — I mean grief. Don't let them give you any grief."

Both boys had already started laughing and Draco rubbed the back of his neck, knowing he should have watched his language a bit better, "Alright, alright, off to bed with both of you. Just remember, that stays between us."

They both nodded, agreeing full-heartedly to take his secret with them out of appreciation, thanking him again for his help and walking off together down the hall, still talking excitedly between them.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The last weekend in April had finally arrived and Hogwarts was abuzz with talk of the final game that would determine the Quidditch Cup. Gryffindor led for the cup by thirty points, so in order to win, Slytherin had to not only win the game, but win it by more than thirty points.

"So are you going to come sit on the Slytherin side of the stands?" Draco asked Hermione smugly as they walked down to the pitch with the rest of the castle.

"Absolutely not," she replied in a similar tone, "I'm head of Gryffindor house, can't be seen fraternizing with the enemy in such a pivotal match."

"Oh come on, you don't even like quidditch!"

"Don't have to, just have to support my students," she gave him a cheeky smile and he threw his arm over her shoulder, kissing the top of her head before putting space between them again, figuring a little affection here and there was no big deal, but she shot him a look anyway that was followed by a blush and a chuckle.

"Weasley - I mean, Ginny - seems excited for dinner tomorrow," Draco said casually.

"Yes, she mentioned you caught up with her after lunch the other day."

"Been meaning to for a while. Figured she's been nice enough the last couple of months and I owed her the opportunity to get out anything she's been holding in."

"And did she?"

"Oh yes," he nodded, "But I think we've been friendly enough that it didn't come out as angrily as I deserved."

"She hates your father much more than she hates you," Hermione commented, looking over at him to gauge his emotions, though he was quite good at shutting them down.

"Yes, she was articulate about that," he nodded, "I don't blame her one bit. But I'm glad we could put it on the table and I could apologize for some of the things she's been holding onto. Not that it takes anything away, but at least I'm cognizant of what she went through, specifically in regards to my family, and I can acknowledge those things and accept the brunt of it as she gets them off her chest."

"I'm glad you gave her the chance to do that," Hermione said, "She said she expected you to just hope the past went away with time instead of confronting it with her."

"That would be the normal Draco Malfoy way of dealing with things."

"I do think it helped," Hermione said with a small smile, "She said she felt some kind of weight lift to be able to hear a thoughtful apology for some of the things she's carried with her."

"I hope so."

"Hermione!" Neville was jogging to catch up with her from a bit further back in the crowd.

"Hi, Neville," she and Draco slowed as he approached.

"Sorry, been trying to find you," he said, breathing a little heavy as he greeted Draco as well, "Harry wanted me to pass along a message that Peeves unscrewed a whole bathroom of faucets that started overflowing a little while ago."

She groaned, of course Peeves would try to wreak some havoc before the biggest Quidditch match of the year, "Does he need my help?"

"No, he just asked if you could fill in for him on the Pitch for the pre-game speech Ron always has to give to the teams and coaches. He said you don't need to know anything, you just have to listen and nod. Figured since Malfoy would be heading to the pitch, you may as well stand in."

"Oh, sure, no problem."

"Great, well I left Luna wandering back up the hill — she spotted something off on the grounds she wanted to examine before the match starts. Can't remember what it was she saw but I told her I'd be back after I found you. Hopefully she hasn't wandered too far."

"Good luck!" Hermione waved as Neville turned to head back up towards the castle.

"Well, you're in for an invigorating pre-game speech," Draco grinned at her and she sighed.

"Neville said all I have to do is listen and nod and I can do that."

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The game was a nail-biter as the skills of the chasers from Gryffindor far exceeded those of Slytherin. Gryffindor was up 160-50 an hour and a half into the match when Fiona, who played seeker for Slytherin, made a dive for the golden snitch, followed closely, but not closely enough, by Marcus, the Gryffindor seeker. She'd wrapped her fingers around the snitch, pulling up right before her broom touched the ground, and raised her arm in the air in victory. Slytherin had won 200 to 160, winning them not just the game, but the Quidditch Cup.

Harry had made it down to the pitch half-way through the game and Draco had made sure to gloat about a celebration dinner on Saturday as the group made their way back up to the castle. Ron had shocked everyone by commenting that Fiona was one of the best seekers he'd seen from any of the houses since they'd began their apprenticeships and Padma had wrapped her arm around his waist and commended him on his willingness to look past his house affiliation and he'd warned her not to expect him to do the same with professional Quidditch teams. "_Canons or bust_."

Draco and Hermione had climbed into bed that evening, pulling the covers up to their necks as they entwined themselves together to beat the chill from spending the evening outside.

"You think Pansy and Ginny will get along?" Hermione asked with a yawn.

"All three of you are strong-headed women so I don't know how any of you get along," he responded as she pinched his side, "Ow! It's true! Three alphas."

"We're all perfectly nice girls."

"Nice and stubborn. Ow!"

"You're stubborn," she countered.

"Correct. And you wouldn't have it any other way."

Hermione leaned up and kissed him soundly as he pulled her closer, "Tomorrow will be fun."

"Always is with you," he said sleepily, resting his head atop hers as his eyes drifted closed. Hermione smiled to herself at the airy comment before nuzzling into his shoulder.

"I love you, Draco."

"Love you too, Granger."

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"You clean up nicely, Potter," Draco said as Harry and Ginny descended the stairs from Gryffindor Tower Saturday evening.

"Amazing how good you can look when your wife dresses you," Harry replied.

"I didn't dress you," Ginny slapped his arm, "I just picked out your suit and did my best to tame your hair."

Draco and Harry shared a look and Ginny rolled her eyes as they joined him in the Entrance Hall.

"You look nice as well, Ginny," Draco said with a grin.

As silly as she may think a swanky restaurant was, she was still clearly intent on playing the part. She wore a tight red dress that slanted around her knee, falling to the floor at one side. Her hair was voluptuously styled, and a string of pearls hung around her neck. An unnecessary gift from Harry, she mentioned as he eyed it.

"Hermione said she'd be right down, she was trying to find her shoes in one of the many unpacked boxes in the corner of her room," Harry relayed.

"Ah so we may be here a while."

"So you said Pansy's boyfriend is a Quidditch player?" Ginny asked, still unsure how she felt about hanging out with Pansy Pug-Face Parkinson.

"Yes, for the Wasps; Chaser I believe."

"Ron's going to be jealous," Harry raised his eyebrows at Ginny, "We're lucky it wasn't a Canons player."

"He's welcome to join next time, you know," Draco slipped a hand in his pocket, "Him and Padma, if they wanted to."

"I'll pass the message along."

"Ah, there she is," Ginny said, turning at the sound of heels hitting the stone steps.

"Sorry, just couldn't find these darn shoes," Hermione said, taking the steps a bit quicker than she should be, given her lack of expertise in wearing heels to begin with. She made it to the bottom without mishap, however, and Draco met her there with a broad smile, "You are delectable tonight," he whispered in her ear before kissing her on the cheek.

"Don't say things like that when we're just at the beginning of the evening," she chided him with a blush, smoothing out the creases on her dress that had bunched as she hurried downstairs. The dress was a deep forest green with a v-neck that was suggestive, but not provocative, and flowed loosely over her curves down to mid-thigh.

"Green?" Ginny sighed, "He's really gotten to you, hasn't he?"

"I just thought it was a nice dress," Hermione laughed with a shake of her head as she took the hand Draco held out for her and the group started for the doors.

"I think the color is quite perfect," Draco quipped.

Within minutes they were turning off the muggle streets of London and into the alleyway leading to the restaurant.

"Is this a trap?" Ginny asked.

Hermione chuckled, "I think I asked something similar the first time he brought me here."

"This is where I brainwash you all into Slytherins," Draco tapped his wand on the door with a wiggle of his eyebrows before he pushed it open, leading the way inside.

Pansy and Nev were already there, waiting on the sleek leather couches in the sitting area by the door.

"I'll check us in," Draco said as they waved and Hermione nodded, leading Harry and Ginny to the couches while Draco turned the other direction.

"Hi Pansy!" Hermione beamed, not hesitating this time to go in for a kiss on each cheek, "I'd like to officially introduce you to Ginny and Harry," she gestured towards them before moving over to Nev to greet him with a hug that he returned warmly.

"Ginny Weasley, nice to officially meet you," Pansy said smoothly, swooping in for a double kiss as Ginny reacted swiftly, "I heard all about you sixth year."

"Why would I have come up in Slytherin conversation at Hogwarts?" Ginny scrunched up her face in confusion as she stepped back.

"Blaise was obsessed with you, not that he'd admit it, but he brought you up all the time in conversation," Pansy grinned, turning to Harry, "Harry Potter, what a pleasure," she pulled him in for a hug and he awkwardly patted her back.

"Er… hi Pansy, nice to see you again."

"You Gryffindors are too polite," she sighed as Nev introduced himself to each of them with a firm handshake and a smile before Pansy slipped back in against him, his arm curling around her back, "So Nev, at Hogwarts we had four houses. Draco and I were in Slytherin and the rest of the lot were in Gryffindor. We were rivals. In all senses of the term, honestly. Draco and I were quite awful as kids. It's a wonder any of them will even step foot in a room with us."

"You couldn't have been that bad," his French accent was heavy but suave as he grinned at her.

"Oh no, they certainly were," Ginny nodded in agreement.

"Sorry about all of that, truly, I hope we can all move past the rivalry and reacquaint." Pansy said, her voice holding as much sincerity as airy confidence.

"Of course, we've all grown up," Harry said. They'd prepared for this meeting and he and Ginny had sat down and talked about it. They knew what dinner with Pansy meant, it meant giving her another chance like they had Draco and they were both here with open minds.

"Our table is ready," Draco said, as he walked over, greeting Nev with a solid handshake hug and Pansy with a double kiss.

"Lead the way," she said as the group followed him back to the host station where they were shown to their table.

Dinner was as decadent as ever that evening and conversation flowed more naturally than Hermione could have hoped for. Ginny was decently well-informed on the professional Quidditch world and had gotten Nev talking on the inner workings of the different teams in the league and why he'd gone to the Wasps. Harry could see a spark in Ginny's eye as she talked about her own interest in trying out for a professional team one day and Nev had suggested that she and Harry come out to a practice some time and they'd graciously agreed, though she'd made it clear it was the Harpies she wanted to play for.

Hermione assumed it helped, having someone neutral in the group like Nev to remove some of the uncertainty of having her friends spend time with Pansy. She could also see the admiration Nev looked at Pansy with as she talked about the panel she'd hosted for the International Confederation of Wizards. He was clearly as smitten with her as she was with him, and it made the evening feel comfortable as three very happy couples sat together, getting to know one another. She barely remembered what it had been like, before, to be the unhappy couple at the table that made a nice evening a bit more awkward. She had looked over at Draco at one point, whose arm was around the back of her chair as he recanted a thrilling Harpies game he'd been to as a kid, revealing it was what made the Harpies his second favorite team, behind Puddlemere United.

Draco had paid for dinner, something all five of them had vehemently fought him on before he told them he'd pre-paid for it at the host stand before they'd even sat and that there was nothing they could do even if they wanted to.

They'd gone on to the Alchemist Den from there, and the looks of wonder on Harry and Ginny's faces were worth it. Much like her, they'd never had a period to truly enjoy their youth before they'd been forced to grow up. They'd all ordered different drinks at the bar, taking recommendations from the bartender, who had greeted Draco and Pansy welcomingly as they'd approached.

They sat at a booth in the corner that had a soft leather bench with a back that rose to the ceiling, making it feel private and semi-enclosed.

"You missed a great time at the Den last weekend," Pansy said to Hermione with a mischievous look as she slid in next to her, Ginny sliding in on the other side of Hermione, "There was a big group of younger wizards and witches in town from Munich and at two in the morning they started a bucking broomstick competition," she laughed airily and Hermione cocked her head to the side.

"What's a bucking broomstick competition?" she asked, looking over at Ginny, who also looked like she had no idea.

"They charm the broom to hover in the middle of the room and you hop on and it tries to throw you off," Pansy elaborated excitedly, "I've been to a few cocktail dens that have an actual setup with cushions and all that. This was just a spur of the moment thing one of the rowdy newcomers decided to get going. At least ten or fifteen of us had a go on it before someone forgot their cushioning charm when they were thrown off and management shut it down. It was quite the party before that."

"Do you come here often?" Ginny asked.

"I used to come every few months or so, but Nev loves it here as much as I do so we're here a couple of times a month."

Hermione could tell she was holding back by keeping her expression in a grin, which was more in character, but her eyes lit up when she talked about him. Draco, Harry and Nev were on the other side of the table, currently fully engaged in a conversation on the novel Nev was working on, centered around Werewolves.

"He seems like a really good one," Ginny said genuinely.

The facade broke as Pansy's grin spread into a broad, gushing smile, "He is, isn't he?" she giggled before reeling it back in and pushing her hair behind her ear, "We met at a Ministry event. My boss is a big Wasps fan, and one of the largest sponsors for the stadium, so he'd gotten acquainted with Nev through events and introduced us at one of our twilight hour gatherings. I think he'd have been a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts," she said with a look over at him, cocking her head to the side, as though it was something that needed to be decided on.

"I agree, I thought Ravenclaw too," Ginny grinned back, "The novel was a dead giveaway, but I thought his personality perfectly fit as well. He seems very driven by logic. Like when he mentioned the statistics of the different teams' turnover as a major factor in his decision to go to the Wasps. Very calculated."

"He's such a great offset to my personality," she sighed, "Never afraid to gently disagree when I say something incorrect. Some of us need that. Especially with some of the drama that happens at the Ministry. Good to have someone logical to come home to, to talk it out and tell me when I'm in the wrong."

"How do you like Ministry life in general?" Hermione asked, she'd had an interest in several departments when she'd first finished her schooling, but teaching had felt like a calling when the initial notice was sent around that Hogwarts would be hiring.

"Feels second nature, honestly," Pansy said, "It's all politics - who you know, who you schmooze, what you attend. It's easy enough when you know the game. But I love my department. Working with all of the international witches and wizards is eye opening. Seeing so many different kinds of people together in one place for one purpose. Makes you consider things in a different way. I'm very happy where this role has taken my life. And what about you two, do you plan to teach forever?"

"I don't," Ginny said thoughtfully, "I really would like to try out for a professional Quidditch team in the next few years. But I think Harry would like to teach for a while. He's so great at it."

"No auror life in his future?"

"No, I think he's had enough excitement fighting dark wizards to last him a lifetime," Ginny said dryly, draining the last sip in her drink.

"And you, Granger? Teacher for life?"

"For a while," she nodded, "I'm definitely happy there right now. But I feel like I'm at an interesting time in my life where a lot of things seemed predetermined for so long and now I feel in control of the path again. I'm just very content letting life progress on its own because I like the direction it's headed in now that I've released the reins. When there's no destination, you notice a lot more just enjoying the ride."

"Hermione Granger, go-with-the-flow enthusiast," Ginny threw her arm around her shoulder and pulled her to her with a laugh, "I love it. Never thought I'd see it, but I do love it."

"It's the right attitude to take on life with," Pansy finished her drink, setting the glass into a square in the middle of the table where it disappeared.

"How did you do that?" Ginny asked, releasing Hermione and leaning towards the middle of the table to inspect it.

"Oh, it's a vanishing charm they have on each of the squares on the tables," Pansy pointed around the room where Ginny, and Hermione, noticed each of the tables had a similar space, "You just put your finished glassware there and it vanishes back to the kitchens to be washed. They like the tidy look and try not to have too many servers taking up valuable floor space."

"That's a very neat charm," Ginny said, grabbing her glass and placing it in the square, watching as it disappeared within a few seconds, "Very neat."

"I didn't even notice that last time we were here," Hermione said.

"They really do have some innovative charms they use at this place," Pansy nodded, "I guess I take that for granted since I'm here so often."

The lighting began to dim as the patrons around the room stood and the tables and chairs from the middle of the floor began to make their way through the back door. Ginny and Harry's heads perked up at the movement and Pansy and Draco shared an amused look. The short, veiled witch glided out from the curtains and began her crooning as Nev stood, holding out his hand for Pansy.

"Looks like the dancing has started," he said with a sweet smile and Pansy winked at Hermione before taking his hand and being led to the dance floor, Hermione, Draco, Ginny and Harry not far behind them.

"I don't think I've ever '_gone out dancing_'," Ginny whispered to her, sounding excited.

"The music is great," Hermione told her, "I'm so happy you both came."

Draco had slipped his hand around her back and was pulling her to him with a devious smile that earned her attention, "Onto my favorite part of the night," he said, his other hand interlacing their fingers as they moved along the floor.

The group was out until the early morning, when Ginny finally pulled Hermione aside, "My feet, I can't do it. I've never worn heels this long in all my life!" her voice was slurred slightly, her eyelids heavy, but her eyes were still bright from the fun the group had had the last few hours.

"Yes, I'm ready to call it too," Hermione nodded, her head feeling too heavy for her shoulders as she smiled, turning her face up to Draco, who was behind her, hands on her hips, swaying to the music, "Time for bed!" she said in his ear and he grinned back at her, capturing her lips for one more kiss before he nodded as well.

They waved goodbye to Pansy and Nev, who had made it back to the booth in the corner and were talking very closely between kisses and had looked up just long enough for a smile and wave back.

The collapse in bed that evening was coupled with an exhilarated sigh and significantly more snogging under the covers before they fell asleep wrapped up together. Their heads would hurt in the morning, but the time together out with friends enjoying life made it all worth it. Besides, a vial of Revitalization Serum would cure the regret in no time.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	30. The Release

**Chapter 30:** The Release

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

May was upon Hogwarts, and with it, the stress of exams. Draco and Hermione had been holding extra after-hours study sessions for OWL and NEWT students, as well as reviewing a year of spells with the Dueling Club for their final dueling competition they would hold at the beginning of June. All things considered, time felt like it was whirling by.

Lucius' release from Azkaban was set for the 31st of May which was only a week away now, and each letter Narcissa had sent since March had been light and airy with quick reassurances that Lucius just needed to return home and settle back into life. Or that once he _met_ Hermione, bias would fall to the wayside. Her hopes were obviously still high and Draco had been dreading what was to come, though he tried his best to set those thoughts aside for the time he and Hermione were able to spend together. Dwelling on it wouldn't make it any better, but they could still enjoy their time now before they had to face it.

He'd written his father a very long letter at the beginning of the month highlighting some things he'd considered after the war, in detail, in hopes that it might spark some interest in seeing things from another perspective. He'd explained the feeling he had looking at Ollivander and not seeing Death Eater or Order member, not seeing Pureblood or Muggleborn, not seeing Wizard or Witch, just seeing a person; helpless, alone, and scared. He'd described the thoughts he'd had in that moment about not caring who it could have been at the end of his wand because there was nothing in the world that made him want to inflict pain on someone else and there was nothing in the world that made that person anything less than what he was, himself.

He'd tried his best to articulate the year he'd spent at Hogwarts when he was sixteen with the weight of his task; how it had driven him to the brink of a breakdown at the thought of having to see it through and how hopeful he'd been when Dumbledore had offered protection. Perhaps if Lucius understood how he'd felt following the path he'd set for him, he'd realize how imperative it was for him, as his father, to try and follow the path Draco and Narcissa had set for their family after the war.

He'd sent a book he'd picked up from Flourish & Blotts on the history of pureblood ideology and the positive impacts of intermingling with muggles, along with a more recent publication on how the Wizarding World had grown and evolved since the war. Did he think his father would read those books? Likely not. But again, what choice did he have, but to try?

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"So when's doomsday?" Ginny asked, sitting down into the chair next to Hermione at the Professor's table at breakfast Tuesday morning.

Hermione sighed, "Saturday."

"I still can't believe you're going to go through with it."

"I have to," Hermione said simply, "It's his father. He's my boyfriend. We have to try and reconcile."

"But it's _Lucius_," Ginny stressed, adding, "_the monster_," under her breath.

"Trust me, I'm not looking forward to it. But it's a step that has to happen."

"And what do you think is going to come of it? Honestly?" She asked, shaking her head.

Hermione thought for a moment on how to answer, "Clarity," she said, looking over, "For Narcissa. For Draco, I'm not sure what he _really_ wants from it. I think he wants his mother to see Lucius for what he is. To see his faults, unfiltered, and for their family to address it. I think he knows it's not going to go well but wants to be able to say he tried, in the end."

"Sounds like closure to me. Put it out on the table and walk away."

"I would never ask him to do that, but I get the feeling this is a last ditch effort in his mind. So maybe."

"I hope it is," Ginny said, turning back to her plate of eggs, "I don't care if he's done his time. I don't think it was long enough for what he was a part of. I think he got off easy because of the good things Narcissa and Malfoy did in the end. I think he should rot there."

Hermione took a bite of her toast to avoid having to respond. She knew this was a tense subject for her. For all of them, of course, but Ginny had every right to want to see Lucius sitting in Azkaban for life. And she didn't disagree that his sentence was lightened because the Malfoys were tried together and he let Narcissa and Draco lead the redemption narrative, playing along like he'd seen the light as well. Of course, they'd all hoped he had and thought it was legitimate at the time.

"Are Pansy and Nev still coming out to Hogwarts the weekend after?" Ginny changed the subject.

"Yes, I'm decently sure Pansy thought it might be good damage control after hearing we were going to dinner with Lucius this weekend. It'll be good timing with classes ending next week. We've got the final dueling club meeting next Tuesday, last classes next Friday and then we can enjoy the weekend before exam week."

"Harry and I will double down on getting through review of final essays this weekend, then, so we can free up next weekend. I really did have a great time out with them at that cocktail bar."

"Shocking, right? I remember being so surprised at how she'd grown up and how much I enjoyed spending time with her."

"Truly shocking," Ginny agreed, "And _Nev_. Just such a great person. He sent an owl to Harry just last week with some practice dates this summer for us to come meet the team; Offered to introduce me to the coach!"

"That was very sweet. Something to look forward to on your off time."

"I can't believe in less than three weeks we can finally say we finished our first year as professors," Ginny said with wide eyes, scooping her last bite into her mouth.

"I can hardly believe it's _only_ been a year with all that's happened."

Ginny grinned at her, "It's wonderful seeing you so happy now. I know a lot has changed, but it's been a good change."

"So are you on board with agreeing that dating Draco is a good change in my life?" Hermione asked with a cheeky smile.

Ginny wrinkled her nose, "Come on, don't make me say it. Fine. Yes, I'm glad you're dating Malfoy. And I'm glad Ron is dating Padma. And I'm glad we can all be friends. There, are you happy?"

Hermione laughed, "Yes. Quite happy actually. It was nice that Ron and Padma came out to the Three Broomsticks with us the other weekend, wasn't it? I thought it went really smoothly."

"Had to know Luna would be the one to convince him. Who could say no to that girl."

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Draco asked as they walked down the steps from Hogwarts on Saturday evening.

"Not sure how ready I could be, honestly," Hermione said with a sigh, "But I am ready to get it over with."

"Me too," Draco said, turning to look ahead again as they walked the path, "Just remember, if it gets to a point where you're uncomfortable or where you don't want to be there anymore, just tell me. We come in together, we leave together."

"I know," Hermione gave him a reassuring look, squeezing his hand a little tighter in hers.

Past the gates, they apparated to London, where they would be meeting Narcissa and a newly released Lucius for dinner. His father had never responded to his last letter, but he hadn't really expected him to.

Draco pushed open the door of their favorite restaurant and walked to the host stand, "Good evening, I'm here to meet my parents, have they arrived yet?"

The host looked up, looking more frazzled than normal, "Ah, young Mr. Malfoy, always good to see you. Yes, they are here, so long it's been since we've seen your father."

It seemed, to Hermione, like a way to acknowledge that he'd been gone a while without saying they'd missed him.

"Alfonso will take you back to your family's usual table," the host nodded to him, gesturing to the very tall wizard standing at his side.

"Right this way," Alfonso said in a deep voice as he led the way through the rows of tables until they reached the back wall where a large floor to ceiling painting hung. He cleared his throat, "Heirlooms," he said clearly as the portrait swung forward and he directed them inside a private room. Draco nodded, walking in, Hermione's hand grasped tightly in his as she followed him, her heart rate starting to pick up speed as they came face to face with his parents.

Her eyes locked on Narcissa who smiled warmly at her, although there was a tension in the room that overpowered it. Hermione's eyes then moved to Lucius and she was almost paralyzed by the fire his gaze held seeing them standing there together.

"Draco, Hermione, so good to see you," Narcissa said as she stood to greet them, her voice feigning airiness in a way only a Malfoy's could. It was a tone that was completely out of place for their current predicament.

"I will be back for your drink orders in a few minutes," Alfonso nodded to the group as he bowed out of the room, the painting closing behind him.

Lucius' gaze had turned to Draco, who returned a coldness defiantly before he broke their eye contact and focused on Narcissa. The room was dimly lit, candles lining the walls and a grand chandelier floating down from the ceiling. The room was large enough for a significantly larger party than theirs, but nevertheless, a square table sat in the middle with just four chairs.

Draco finally stepped forward, greeting his mother with a kiss on each cheek before stepping to the side as Hermione took his place, greeting Narcissa with the best smile she could force and a thank you for the invitation.

Draco pulled out the seat next to Narcissa for Hermione before moving to take the seat next to his father, sitting without any real greeting, though that was the least awkward thing he could have done, given the fact that Lucius hadn't moved an inch since they'd arrived. He was sitting straight back in his chair, one hand grasping a crystal glass with an amber liquid, and one hand clenched in a fist on the table.

"Well, don't you feel introductions are in order?" Narcissa asked Draco to break the silence.

However Lucius was the one who responded, voice dripping with superiority, "I don't think that will be necessary, Narcissa, We've met on numerous occasions, isn't that right, Hermione Granger?" Lucius turned his head towards her.

"For better or worse," she responded tightly, her voice unwavering.

"Alright, then, I just thought a nice official introduction might be productive, but I won't push if neither of you feel it's necessary," she turned her focus to Draco, clearly ready to start in on Plan B, "Lucius arrived back to the Manor last night. We got him all settled back in and I had the House Elves make his favorite dinner. Well, second favorite, next to this restaurant of course."

She was talking faster than her normal confident drawl and Hermione did her best to focus on her instead of giving her attention to Lucius.

"Do you own many elves?" Hermione asked, unable to stop herself.

"Oh we've got a few, yes, to tend to the housework and the kitchens."

"We used to have one more, before someone took that from me," Lucius said articulately, his gaze still fixed on the girl across the table.

Hermione felt a tightness in her chest as he talked about Dobby like he was property and not like the hero he had been, "Dobby was a wonderful soul" she replied, "And he was very happy at Hogwarts. I'm of the opinion that House Elves should be compensated for their work and valued like any other being."

Narcissa cleared her throat uncomfortably, "I have tried to improve the living conditions for the elves over the last few years. I renovated the East Wing of the Manor so they could have their own comfortable space. I read an enlightening book on the connections between wizards and magical creatures and there was a great section on House Elves, and the increased efficiency that's been linked to things like the amount of off-hours and preferred amenities. Happier Elves are more efficient," she noted to Lucius before turning back, "I added a large clawfoot bathtub into the East Wing, apparently they love bathtubs. It was a hit."

"Are you a big reader?" Hermione asked, noticing she'd mentioned her readings a few times now.

"Only the last six years that Lucius has been gone," she admitted, "Being alone in the Manor gave me an unusual amount of free time to fill."

"Did a bit too much reading, maybe," Lucius said, giving her a sarcastic smile and she pursed her lips at him.

The portrait hole to the restaurant opened again and Alfonso returned, notepad and quill hovering at his side as the conversation paused, "Can I offer you a bottle of wine for the table?" he directed his question to Lucius who gave a curt nod.

"Yes, we'll just take the finest bottle that you have," he said and Hermione used every ounce of self-restraint not to roll her eyes.

"Very well, sir. I will return with your wine and the courses will begin coming out shortly," he gave a short bow before leaving the room again.

"So, Draco, dear, how was the rest of your school year?" Narcissa transitioned topics again. She had a whole arsenal of topics ready, if Hermione had to guess.

Draco eyed his father, looking very much like he was deciding between wanting to address his pompous attitude and wanting to appease his mother. He opted for the latter, "Very good. Next week we have our final week of classes and Dueling Club meeting and then the week after will be exams."

"And will you get some time to come home this summer?" she asked hopefully.

"We have the month of July off before planning begins," Draco said, not directly answering the question on if he'd be coming to the manor.

"And what will you be doing with that time, Hermione?" Narcissa asked, trying to include her in conversation.

"I'll be visiting my parents for a few days. Draco is planning to join me for that," she said, giving him a small smile.

"You'll be meeting the muggles?" Lucius raised his eyebrows at Draco.

"Yes," Draco said simply, "We'll be going to Hampstead mid-July to meet the Grangers."

"And I imagine you're just the boyfriend they envisioned for their daughter, with your history and all, that should be a fun tale, explaining that you once imprisoned her in your home."

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop as Draco's eyes narrowed and Narcissa's mouth fell open.

"Now - now, Lucius—," she began.

The portrait hole opened again and Alfonso returned with a large bottle of red wine, "Tonight's vintage wine selection is a Bordeaux-Meade blend from southern France," he stated, presenting the bottle as the glasses hovered to his side, his haughty tone not at all reading the tension in the room, "Will you be tasting, Mr. Malfoy?"

Without looking away from his father, Draco responded through gritted teeth, "You can just leave the bottle."

Alfonso looked from Draco back to Lucius unsurely before Lucius nodded, "That bottle will be just fine. You can serve the glasses and leave the bottle."

Alfonso looked like he wasn't sure if he was being tested, as it was standard protocol for someone to taste the wine before accepting a bottle, especially a bottle such as this one. He only faltered a moment before pulling the bottle back to uncork it, "Very well," he smiled, pouring four glasses and levitating them to their places, "Your first course will be out shortly."

He backed out of the room again as the silence hung, Draco and Lucius staring challengingly at one another.

"Lucius, I don't think that comment was at all necessary," Narcissa finally said, "Perhaps instead, an apology to Hermione would be a good step, since the incident has been brought up anyway now."

"The incident?" Lucius echoed with a dark laugh, "That's a very nice term to use for such an occurrence," he said to his wife, "And I see that both you and Draco have been very much enjoying this game of playing pretend while I've been away, but it's quite a lot to keep up, don't you think?"

"It's not a game, father," Draco said dangerously, "It's called growing and learning, and it's something we had hoped you might do with six years to sit and think about what you've done with your life."

"Now, Draco," Narcissa said feebly, "I was really hoping we could just sit and have a nice dinner tonight…"

"I'm not sure what you were expecting, Narcissa," Lucius cut in, "You've brought me to dinner with my traitor son and his Mudblood girlfriend. Why any of us even attempted to make sense of this is beyond me."

Hermione's eyes widened at the audacity of the man in front of her, "What is it in your head that makes you think that you're anything more than I am? And what in the world makes you think that calling me that right here, in front of me and in front of your family, is going to be productive? They are trying to give you the opportunity to show that you're better than that."

"Because it cuts the niceties," Lucius responded, his cold stare returning to her, "In no way do I think you are fit for my son, or this family. I've expressed those feelings to both my wife and my son, and the fact that we are all here right now is absolutely ridiculous. I just returned from six years in Azkaban and _this_ is how I'm welcomed home."

"Do you have any idea what both of them have done to try and answer for the life you led them into," Hermione said incredulously as Draco and Narcissa looked on, trying to decide if they should jump in yet, "Do you have any idea the irreversible damage you caused your family by holding your prejudices so dear to your heart? You're lucky they're as good of people as they are or you'd still be sitting in Azkaban without their change of heart at the Battle of Hogwarts."

"Well let me be the first to tell you that the Dementors were significantly better company than _you_," Lucius bit, turning to Draco, "I think it's clear this went as well as I'd expected so I'd appreciate if you could acknowledge that you've made a mistake and we can end this and send the girl home. There will be plenty of time for us all to cool down and sit down as a family again another day."

Draco looked at his father like he'd never seen him before. Of course he knew his father had his biased beliefs, but the fact that they could run so deep when challenged was shocking, "I most certainly will not be ending things with Hermione," he said, his voice calm, but definitive, "She has been the best thing to happen to my life and the only thing that's ever made me feel I had a purpose. If you can't accept that, then it's you I'll be done with today."

"If you walk out that door tonight, Draco, you'll never see a dime of your inheritance."

"I don't give a damn about the money, father," Draco stood, holding out his hand for Hermione, who took it and stood with him, "Mother, I'm sorry, but I think we can both see now that he hasn't changed. Not one bit in six years. And he never will. I love you and you'll make your own decisions, but we are leaving."

Narcissa looked from Draco to Lucius to Hermione and back, "I just — I thought we could talk through this, or at least try to find a way to coexist when we're together," she said faintly, before turning to Lucius, opening and closing her mouth a couple of times as she gathered her thoughts, the silence deafening in their private room, "Lucius, I love you. I always have. With my entire heart, no matter what. This family is everything to me. But you've put me against my son and against all the things I've grown to learn and accept and _believe_ in my heart. And you've shown me, in one sitting, that as strong as our love has been for thirty years… sometimes people just grow apart," she stood slowly, tears welling in the corners of her eyes, "It seems I've grown and you've stayed in the same place, and that's a place I can't go back to."

Draco looked at his mother in utter shock. She'd stood by Lucius' side through everything. He assumed she would just take him home tonight and give him a stern talking to and try this again another time. But she couldn't be… she wasn't… not now that he was home...?

"Lucius, I'm leaving," she said as the tears rolled down her cheeks, though her head was kept high, "The days of Pureblood idolization are over. The days of the Malfoys being associated with hate and prejudice are over. If you don't want to move forward with us, we'll continue moving forward without you," she wiped a few tears away as Lucius just stared at her, as stunned as Draco, "I wanted to see a change in you when you got home. I'd hoped perhaps you just hadn't vocalized the changes you'd been experiencing, but I need wake up. There was a reason you never engaged in my conversations about growth and it's because you hadn't had any. And if you can't see all the ways you were wrong after six years sitting and thinking about it, I need to accept that you never will."

She grabbed her wine glass and took a few long gulps to calm her nerves before setting it back down, "The wine is quite exquisite," she said as she grabbed her sleek snakeskin clutch and turned to Draco, "I'll be walking out with you."

"Now… Narcissa," Lucius started in a chiding tone, finally finding his voice again.

"No," she whipped her head back towards him, "No, I won't hear it. I'll be staying with my sister until I arrange a time to pack my things, and Draco's, from the Manor. You may be cutting off his Malfoy inheritance, but don't you sit there snidely and forget that I'm still a Black and that we will be just fine without you."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she strode towards Draco and Hermione with a determined look on her face, albeit the watery eyes.

The portrait hole opened again as Alfonso walked back in with the first course, stopping in his tracks at the scene in front of him, "Should I… come back?" He asked, "I can keep the plates warm in the kitchens."

"It'll just be dinner for one tonight, Alfonso. Thank you. You can charge all four to the Malfoy account, however," Narcissa said briskly.

She stepped around him and out the portrait hole as Draco and Hermione both muttered some form of apology to Alfonso as they passed, the portrait closing behind them all as they marched out of the restaurant, followed by a sea of eyes, and back onto the streets of London.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o


	31. Moving Forward

**Chapter 31:** Moving Forward

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Once in the alleyway outside the restaurant, Narcissa collapsed onto the ground, sobbing.

"Mother…" Draco said as he approached her, still in disbelief of what she'd just done.

Hermione walked over quickly and dropped down to a crouch, her hand resting on Narcissa's shoulder, "You didn't have to do that over me," she said, feeling like the catalyst that just broke up the Malfoy family.

"Over... _you_," Narcissa got out between sobs, lifting her hand to pat Hermione's, "No, dear, I just didn't want to see it before. I wanted to think he'd… he'd _changed_. That he'd seen the error of his ways like we had. I wanted us to be a family again," the sobs reignited and Hermione and Draco looked at each other uncertainly for a moment before Narcissa caught her breath again, "But the hatred he talks with… I can't ignore that. I can't turn a blind eye to it anymore. I'm not the same woman I was six years ago and I won't stand quietly by his side as he continues to spew those beliefs."

Draco had walked around on the other side, leaning down and pushing her hair back out of her face, "Mother, you did the right thing," he said in an uncharacteristically soft voice, "We've both outgrown his reign. Let's go to your sister's. We'll take you and you can settle in and rest tonight."

Narcissa nodded, still beside herself in tears, but knowing she should not be sitting on the ground in a muggle alleyway outside her favorite restaurant; a place she was welcomed and respected, "Yes, right. I'll go to Andromeda. You don't have to come—"

"We're just going to go with you, make sure they're available and get you settled. Besides, I've only seen her once in the last few years and things were still tense between the two of you. It will be nice to see her again."

Hermione's heart pulled tight again. She hadn't had the capacity to fully process the last time Narcissa had brought up Andromeda, but taking Narcissa meant seeing her again for the first time since the beginning of the war. Since before Teddy was born… before they'd lost Tonks…

"Hermione, can you help me?" Draco said, standing and holding a hand out for his mother as Hermione did the same.

"Of course."

Narcissa took their hands and let them pull her to her feet where she tried to smooth out the chic dress she was wearing for their evening out, "I can apparate us if you'll just both hang on," she said, grasping both of their hands tightly as she took a deep breath, closing her eyes before she turned on the spot and the three of them apparated to a quaint countryside house, "Just this way," Narcissa said, keeping hold of both of their hands for support as she led them up the driveway and to the door, where she finally let them both go, trying to fix her hair a little as Draco knocked.

They heard inquisitive voices and a shuffling of feet on the other side of the door before it opened.

"Cissa?" Andromeda said in confusion before noticing the others with her, "Draco and… you're the friend of Harry Potter," she did a double take of the group again before looking back at Narcissa, "What are you doing here, is everything okay?"

"I left Lucius," Narcissa said as her voice wavered and her eyes watered all over again.

"Oh… oh dear," the screen swung open and she waved them all inside before shutting the door again.

Inside, Ted was sitting on the couch with a small boy, who was reading from a plush book. Ted looked up, his eyes full of concern as they landed on the group.

"Could you take Teddy to bed?" Andromeda asked in a calm voice.

Ted looked up at the clock on the wall, "Would you look at that, Teddy, it's time for bed!"

Teddy looked up at his grandfather, "Already? But we've got visitors now!"

"Time gets away from us when we're having fun," he quipped, picking Teddy up from the couch and heading towards the stairs, "I'll be back down," he said with a nod to them all.

"Come in, sit," Andromeda gestured to the living room as they followed her.

Narcissa sat down on the couch, looking lost for words and Andromeda sat next to her, grabbing her hand, "Now tell me what happened."

Narcissa did her best to recant the events, from her hopes of having Lucius home through what had been said at dinner, in between new bouts of tears. Draco and Hermione had taken to the chairs nearby, jumping in for clarification where it was needed.

Andromeda had made tea for the group as Ted rejoined them and they'd spent a good hour or two at the Tonks' residence, Hermione filling in the gaps of how they all knew each other and mentioning at one point how lucky she felt to have known Nymphadora.

Andromeda had given her a sad chuckle, "She'd have turned her hair quite an angry shade of red if she knew people would still be calling her that after her passing."

After coming up with a plan for helping Narcissa to retrieve what she needed from the Manor in the coming days, and making sure she was adequately taken care of, Draco and Hermione took their leave to return to the castle where they'd crawled into bed, emotionally drained from the evening.

"How are you doing?" Hermione had asked, her body pulled tightly against Draco's under the sheets, "That was a big decision both you and Narcissa made tonight."

"We didn't make it," he sighed, "My father made it for us. He gave us no choice. Those were the beliefs of a life we both left behind a long time ago for good."

"I can't help but feel guilty. Like I instigated your family's breakup."

"No, just as my mother said, it wasn't your fault, you just brought to the surface all the things we needed to see earlier than if you hadn't been there, or if we hadn't been dating when he was released. These were all things we'd have seen and realized eventually, we just had to acknowledge it and move on now rather than later. It's for the best."

"Do you think you'll ever reconcile?" She asked quietly. She certainly didn't like Lucius, but no matter the circumstances, losing a parent was heartbreaking.

He was quiet for a few moments before he responded, "No, no I can't say I see that happening."

She looked up, seeing the confliction in his eyes at the thought of disconnecting his father from his life completely. But with it, was defiance. He was tired of being held to Lucius' standards; Standards that were in no way in line with his own. He was being honest with her and she knew it. Even if it hadn't been for her, the people Draco and Narcissa had grown into did not align with Lucius Malfoy. And they never would again.

"I love you," she said, "For every bit of who you are."

He looked down at her with a crooked smile that still didn't make it to the look in his eyes, "I love you too, for every bit of who you've made me."

Hermione had fallen asleep quickly that night, exhausted from the events, but Draco lay awake for a long time, drifting off here and there, but never quite finding the level of restful sleep his brain was craving. There was a numbness in his body at what had transpired; an embarrassment of hearing his father talk to his girlfriend that way; an anger at his refusal to consider the world in a new light; and a disappointment in his disinterest in growing and stepping up for the family that he'd always said was the most important thing to him. Draco and his mother had not walked away from Lucius, Lucius had simply never caught up to them on their path for redemption.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

Over the next few days, Narcissa had sent word that with the help of Andromeda and Ted, she had gotten all she needed from the Manor as a stubborn Lucius had showered her with idle threats of cutting her off and accusations of betrayal. Rita Skeeter had snapped a photograph of her leaving the Manor with a box of her things that had been plastered all over the Prophet the next day with the headline _Malfoy Matriarch Marches Out_. Seems she'd been staking out their home since Lucius' release in hopes of a story. However Narcissa insisted she didn't care. The more public her separation from Lucius was, the better, in her eyes, no matter how painful. She would be staying with her sister for a short time as she considered where she would go from there. She had a perfectly adequate inheritance from the Black side of the family to support herself and set up a new life away from Lucius.

It was Tuesday evening at the castle, and the winners of the final dueling competition from each year were being handed their prizes to a sea of applause. For the sixth years, everyone had been shocked when Fiona was defeated by Gabriel in a nail-biter final round, even Gabriel himself, who had been working hard each week to review and practice in his off time. His grin had been broad as he'd accepted the basket full of Honeydukes candy from Draco to return to the group, where Fiona had held out her hand and congratulated him on a good fight.

They'd all settled back around and quieted as Draco and Hermione met in the middle of the room, wands raised and lowered, and walked their paces to turn and share their final duel.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked smugly.

"Ready to knock you off your high horse," she replied, flourishing her wand, "_Stupefy_!"

"_Protego_!" Draco flicked his wand, his feet moving in a practiced fashion along the floor as they began their duel. Jinxes and counter curses were thrown back and forth, each seemingly one step ahead of the other on what to anticipate next. Draco had a knack for perfecting a few complicated choice spells where Hermione had a broader knowledge of a vast array of different spells. She'd catch him off guard with a new one, but he'd sent back another powerful one of his own.

She was hit with a jellylegs jinx as she dove out of the way of his spell, but had performed the counter-curse mid-roll back to her feet before sending a body bind curse back his way, which he'd defended just in time, already thinking he'd bested her with his jinx.

There was another good minute of flashing lights as they hurled the next round of curses and protection charms at each other before Draco broke the chain with a side step and spin-move. But Hermione had expected his pivot as she whipped her wand around with another stunning spell that he deflected as they started circling again, each regaining their composure.

"You've got to get more creative," she called, wand gripped tightly in her hand as she tried to read his next move.

"You've got to get quicker," he grinned, "_Expelliarmus_!"

"_Protego_!" she ducked to the side before casting a duplicating charm on a nearby stack of pillows - the stack they always used for their practice. The pillows shook, catching Draco's attention as he fumbled his next curse, a new pillow popping from the middle of each where a new one was already emerging from that.

"_Reducto_!" Draco aimed his wand at the pillow closest to him as seven or eight pillows were now duplicating mid-air in his direction, bombarding him, "Oh come on, why is it always pillows, _Reducto_!"

"_Ebublio_!" Hermione called over the noise of the duplicating pillows and cursing Draco.

All of a sudden, Draco was encased in a large, human-sized bubble that lifted him into the air, frozen. All he could do was swivel his eyes down to Hermione, who was grinning from ear-to-ear as the students cheered.

"_Reducto_!" she called as the bubble popped and Draco fell a few feet back to the theater floor, "_Expelliarmus_!"

Draco's wand flew threw the air and she caught it, looking back at him as he rolled onto his back with a sigh of defeat, "You win."

Hermione raised her hands in triumph, enjoying the whoops and whistles from the group, and then walked over, extending her hand to Draco, who took it and stood, shaking her hand admirably.

"Well, you have your professor champion for the year," Draco said, holding her hand up to solidify her victory and smiling at her as she smiled back.

"Alright, and now it's just about time for everyone to get off to bed, but first we wanted to take a picture to commemorate our first year of the club," Hermione said, walking over to her bag to grab a camera as everyone arranged themselves excitedly. She charmed the camera to hover as she rejoined the group, noticing on her walk over how interspersed the houses were between each other. There were Gryffindors and Slytherins with their arms around each other and Ravenclaws' and Hufflepuffs' heads clinked together. Hermione slipped into the middle with Draco, beaming at the camera as it went off.

They all started talking again as Hermione summoned the camera and Draco turned to the group, "It's been a great year with all of you and we hope to see all you first to sixth years back here again in the fall. To our seventh years, congratulations and we'll see you at graduation in another couple of weeks!"

There was more clapping and whooping as Hermione gave him an endearing look, turning back to them all again, "Thank you for making this so much fun every week. Now, back to your common rooms before we hit curfew!"

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

The last week of classes was gone in the blink of an eye and the last weekend before exams had come. Friday night, Harry and Draco had made their way to the Hogs Head for a drink, even though they would all be going out with Pansy and Nev the following night as well.

"She really left him?" Harry asked again as Draco told him the story over drinks.

Draco nodded, taking a sip from his glass for a bit of a mental break.

"Where's she going to go?"

"She's with my Aunt right now. She's actually really happy to be around Teddy - you know, Lupin's kid," he said uncomfortably, knowing from Hermione's conversation with Andromeda that they were all close with his estranged cousin and their old professor.

Harry felt a pang of sadness, "How is Teddy?"

"Doing great, it seems like. We met him briefly when we took my mother there after dinner."

"That's good to hear," Harry gave him a small smile, "So she's enjoying being there?"

"Yes, says having Teddy around is a great distraction and she's been spending a lot of time reading him books and chasing him around the yard. It's giving my Aunt and Uncle a nice break from grandparent duties as well, so I think it's working for now. But I know she'll want her own place soon enough. Somewhere to settle into and not feel like she's depending on someone else."

Harry looked like he was deep in thought for a moment as he nodded before he turned back to Draco, "Would she want to move into Grimmauld Place? It's her Aunt's old house. Sirius' childhood home. He left it to me when…" he couldn't quite finish the sentence, even eight years later, "He left it to me."

"Right but you wouldn't want my mother living in your house," Draco said, "That's a nice offer and all, but that would be encroaching."

"She can have it," Harry said without hesitation, "I could never move in there. Sirius was so unhappy in Grimmauld Place and it was full of memories that haunted him. It was a nice gesture for him to leave me something so tangible, but the way I lost him… to Bellatrix… I can't see myself ever wanting to be in that house. So if your mother would be interested, I'm happy to pass it on. If it can be a refuge to someone looking to distance themselves from a dark place, I can't imagine a better use for it."

Draco knew he didn't totally understand the situation, but he understood well enough. He would never take the Manor for a similar reason. Going back to somewhere with such a dark past was traumatizing, it had even been so when he was living there before Hogwarts with his mother, "I'll ask her if she'd be interested," he said with a crooked smile that Harry returned.

"Great. She'd get Kreacher to go with it. He's cleaned the place up nicely. I try to check in every few months, but he's been quite happy there on his own and I'm sure he'd be even more happy to have a Black back in the house."

"Thanks for the offer, Potter, really," Draco raised his glass and Harry clinked his against it.

"Consider it repayment for her saving my life."

They'd returned to the castle that evening and Draco had written his mother with Harry's offer, making sure to explain that he had too much history with the house to want to live there himself and that she would be doing him a favor to take it off his hands and be the caretaker. After a few back and forth owls, she'd agreed to not just take the house, but to buy it from Harry for a fair price, which he'd pushed back on, but she'd insisted and he'd finally accepted with the understanding that he would be immediately donating whatever she paid for it to Hogwarts to cover student expenses like textbooks and uniforms for the upcoming school year.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

After one last relaxing weekend out in Hogsmeade with Pansy and Nev, the stress of OWLs and NEWTs rained down upon Hogwarts as the next week commenced. The teachers took turns moderating exams and holding last minute review sessions before Friday was over and they'd officially closed out their first year teaching. The seventh year graduation ceremony was the following Sunday and parents filed into the castle for the weekend as the first to sixth years headed for the train back to London.

A dinner was held Saturday evening where the professors were able to mingle with the parents of their students and talk about their big projects and future prospects. Sunday, they'd held graduation in the Great Hall and within the day, the students had thinned and the professors were left with the castle to themselves again. The next couple of weeks would be for packing up classrooms and going over housekeeping items like timing for the professors' collective return and group meetings reflecting on their first year - what went well, what could be improved, etc.

Sunday evening the professors had gathered in the back room of the Three Broomsticks to celebrate their accomplishments, and everyone was in high spirits, cheersing one another and giving small speeches of congratulations and appreciation for their fellow professors. They'd returned back to the castle in the early hours of the morning and Hermione and Draco had made their way to the dungeons.

"First year of teaching is in the books," Hermione said as she closed the door behind her.

"It's been a pretty quiet year, wouldn't you say?" Draco sunk down onto the couch, throwing one arm over the back and one leg up on the cushions to leave a nice spot for her to curl into.

"Yes, nothing exciting happened at all," she said coyly, settling in against him.

"I just want to say, Granger, that I'm very happy I decided to come teach this year. I hope you know you've turned my whole world around."

"_You_ turned your world around," she corrected, "I've just been here as a witness and a cheerleader."

"And a support system and a _friend_," he pulled her tighter against him, "And of course, a tease. But that's not your fault."

She chuckled, a blush creeping up her neck, "I'm very happy you came to teach as well. I'd been stuck in a rut for so long and you've opened my eyes to all the life experiences I still had left to discover."

"I'd say we've got a couple more ahead of us, if I had to guess."

"So where to next? To Italy? To Spain? To Africa?"

"To Hampstead," he grinned down at her, "To meet the Grangers."

She laughed, the smile written on her face giving away her excitement for that step, "To Hampstead."

They'd stayed up on the couch for a while longer talking; about meeting her parents, about taking trips with friends, and about what year two as professors would hold for them. It was crazy now, to think back on that first day at Hogwarts when they'd been assigned as partners for the dueling club and the apprehension they'd both held at having to find a way to move past their rivalry. Their lives had both changed that day, and through compassion and friendship, they'd allowed themselves to find something neither had expected; they'd found the kind of love that connects two people for life. And they'd found a future full of happy unknowns to explore and grow together, wherever their new path took them. Not a bad takeaway, for their first year as professors.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N: **This was originally the ending to this story, however an epilogue struck me as I was laying in bed last night, so epilogue is on the way! Thank you to everyone reading and reviewing :)


	32. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

To say the last two years had been an adventure would be an understatement. Their second year as professors took them on a roller coaster as a dark plot unfolded at the school, thwarted, of course, by Draco, Hermione and the rest of the professors, with the help of a few of the seventh year students. The year had been a challenge, physically and mentally, but they'd had each other to lean on, and they'd come out stronger because of it.

Their third year had been delightfully ordinary as they settled into what was the most uneventful year at Hogwarts they could have hoped for. They'd promised themselves more time to disconnect that year by taking one weekend trip per month to explore different parts of the world. The portkeys had been expensive, but the experience had been worth every sickle. The depth of what Draco knew about (or had read about) the cultures they visited made her fall even more in love with him. There was truly nothing more invigorating than talking about ancient histories over cappuccinos before returning to their, always extravagant, hotel to explore in _other_ ways.

It was now the beginning of what would be their fourth year teaching as Hermione and Draco arrived back at Hogwarts after the summer holiday. Their summer break had been a busy one as well. Draco had enjoyed a weekend with Blaise playing Quidditch while Hermione set off for her parents', Draco joining them a few days into her visit. They liked Draco, which she'd never doubted they would, though he had been very up front with her parents about his past; He didn't want them to only know half the story. For them to truly accept him, he had to give the background and he knew he'd need to work hard to earn their trust after that. And it _had_ taken time. But they'd seen the love the two had for each other and they'd been willing to give him a chance and get to know him.

They made visits to Hampstead when they had the availability, and eventually, her parents, too, saw the wonderful man that Draco had grown into. Their annual visit this year had been the most relaxed Hermione had ever seen them all together as Draco and her father bonded over mead discussing the aspects of muggle and wizarding Madrid that made it such a welcoming culture.

After Hampstead, they'd spent a weekend with Harry, Ginny, Pansy and Nev in Wales. Ginny had been drafted by the Harpies as the new Seeker after the end of the season last fall, meaning she'd been attending training camps on the weekends, and had joined the team when the prior school year had ended. The friends had enjoyed some time sightseeing around Wales, Ginny and Nev exchanging a friendly level of trash talk to each other before they'd play in their first Harpies vs. Wasps match that Sunday, which the rest of them had gotten top notch seats for from Pansy's boss at the Ministry. Harry had been ecstatic to watch her entrance into the stadium, and they'd all screamed and whooped during the harrowing ending as she snatched the snitch from under the Wasps' seeker's grip. Nev had even congratulated her with a proud hug as he'd gotten to her in the post-game hand-shaking line-up.

When Ginny had given notice to McGonagall that she'd be leaving the Charms post, Draco had sent an owl to Blaise, who immediately contacted the Headmistress with interest. Blaise had been working the last six years as a code-breaker for Gringotts and as much as he'd enjoyed the work, he'd said the hours were miserable, and had wanted to settle into a life that allowed him more free time to see friends and family. After contemplating all of the resumes she had received and going through a few interviews, she'd tentatively extended the offer to Blaise, pending a rigorous entrance exam to become a teacher without teaching experience — something Draco had been subjected to without the apprenticeship as well. With a passed exam, he'd been extended the official offer and accepted the position. And Draco was very much looking forward to having him around for the upcoming year.

Later in the summer, Draco and Hermione had visited Narcissa at 12 Grimmauld Place where she'd showcased her new cooking talents, something Kreacher was teaching her. And she'd mentioned removing the Portrait of Mrs. Black that had been annoying her as she continued her redecorating of the drab space.

"How did you do that?" Hermione had asked in awe, "The Order spent countless hours trying to get that off the wall."

"Yes, Kreacher mentioned that," Narcissa had nodded with a sigh, "There was a sticking charm on it. But you see, my aunt had an affinity for these kinds of unique charms — ones that kept family heirlooms secure in the house, unable to be removed, but were ineffective on family members because she trusted the intent of her family, with the exception of Sirius, of course. I'm sure she figured out early on how to enhance the charms to exclude him from the list of family members able to surpass the charms. I actually have a feeling it has to do with him being burned off the tapestry of the Black family tree. I doubt Andromeda would have been able to remove it either."

"Little did she know that someone else in the Black family would start to question their traditions and beliefs," Draco said with a crooked smile to his mother as she patted his shoulder and returned the look.

They split holidays between Hampstead and 12 Grimmauld Place, one getting Christmas eve and morning and the other Christmas afternoon and dinner. They'd talked about getting them all together one year and she hoped this year might be the one. She truly thought Narcissa and her parents would get along quite well. Lucius had been out of the picture for some time now after getting thrown back in Azkaban nearly a year after his release — this time for good. And so the manor sat empty, albeit the elves that had free reign over it now, with no one quite sure what to do with it.

The last two weeks of their summer holiday had taken Draco and Hermione to muggle Paris so Hermione could take him to all of her favorite places — the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame… it was a lovely trip and she'd been so happy to see him engage in muggle culture. He'd asked what certain gadgets were as they explored, such as the computers in front of customers at the cafes they frequented, and the things in peoples' hands they kept their eyes glued to on a constant basis. Draco had been walked into at least three times he could remember by muggles staring at some little contraption in their hand. But it had been a romantic trip and Hermione felt high as they'd returned back to England to begin another school year.

As they arrived back at the castle August first, bags in hand, they walked the stairs to the main doors, debating between them about which part of Paris was better — the muggle side, or Montmartre. There was a brightness in Draco's eyes as they talked; a spark that always made her swoon just a little.

"I won't deny the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night was magnificent," He said as he'd opened the door, gesturing her in, "But the view of the fountain in the middle of Montmartre when the fireworks go off as the clock strikes nine… it's just incomparable." They'd paused in the Entrance Hall, still quite enthralled in their conversation.

"And I think the fireworks are wonderful, of course," Hermione shifted her bag from one shoulder to the other to relieve the burden, "But to boil down all the two sides have to offer to those two attractions isn't quite fair. Montmartre is only a few streets — a few lovely, magical streets — but muggle Paris is a whole city of things to see and do."

Draco chuckled as he eyed her shifting the weight on her shoulders, "Probably should put our bags down before we end up here for hours. I don't think we're going to agree on this any time soon."

"Right," she said, looking around as though she was just realizing they were standing in the middle of the hall, "Dinner's in an hour, I'll see you there."

Draco leaned down, bags still weighing heavily on his own shoulder, and planted a few small, lingering kisses on her lips, "See you soon."

They split ways as Hermione headed for the stairs to Gryffindor Tower and Draco took the opposite stairs down to the dungeons after a quick backwards glance at the only woman that could make him smile as genuinely as he was. The professors' return dinner was at five which would be followed by a staff meeting in the early evening to discuss housekeeping items for the term, and then they would make their annual outing to the back room of the Three Broomsticks to cheers to a new year.

Draco had gotten much more comfortable with the other professors after the events of their second year as professors, earning the trust and faith of those that had taken some time to warm up to him. And over the years of Quidditch scrimmages, weekend Hogsmeade visits and staff room chatter, he was happy to say he'd made a few good friends along the way. Ron was even quite cordial with him now, as he was one of the few other professors who could have an in depth conversation about professional Quidditch standings, something Draco found himself excited to delve back into now that he was able to start picking up his old interests again, feeling more himself (a changed, grown, and matured version of himself, of course) than he had in years.

As Hermione climbed the stairs, she thought back to their last evening in Paris dreamily, Draco had surprised her with cooking lessons with a French chef — a French muggle chef, at that (something he'd had to enlist the help of Harry to figure out how to reserve) — and they'd learned how to cook an extravagant meal without magic, though he'd noted after they'd left that as fun of an experience as it was, he'd be sticking to magic once they had a nice kitchen of their own one day. When she reached her room, she stopped, a look of utter confusion hitting her as she looked around. She was in the right place, for sure, but her door was missing. Unsure what else to do, she turned back for the stairs and headed instead for the Headmistress's office.

"Good afternoon, Minerva" Hermione said as she entered, McGonagall looking up from a letter she was writing.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Granger, I didn't think I'd be seeing you until later tonight."

"Well, the oddest thing just happened. Draco and I just got back to the castle and I went up to my room and my door was gone. Just… vanished."

"That is odd, indeed," McGonagall said, furrowing her brows. "I'll have to get Filch and we'll get it figured out right away. Even if the door is gone, the room still exists so I'm sure all of your things are perfectly safe, just a matter of getting you to them."

"Alright, thank you. Sorry to bother you the first day back."

"Not a bother at all," McGongall gave her a small smile, "Oh, and Ms. Granger," she said as Hermione turned to leave, "Mr. Potter said he was looking for you earlier. It sounded urgent. He said he'd be in his classroom, starting to get things set up, and that if I saw you to let you know."

"Oh," Hermione said with concern, "Alright, I'll go there and then I'll be in the Dungeons whenever the door mishap is figured out."

"We'll find you," McGongall nodded as Hermione took her leave and headed for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, walking quickly. She was curious what Harry could want, though this was the first year Ginny wouldn't be at school with them so it was possible he just needed a second set of hands to help with something.

Hermione reached the DADA classroom a few minutes later, pushing the door open with a knock, "Harry?"

But she was met instead, by another scene. The desks were all moved against the walls and there were seven stations of pillows set up in a row, much like they had been for the Dueling club meetings when they'd been held here. Her eyes lifted, meeting Draco's gaze as he stood at the front of the classroom, leaning against the front desk as he always had.

"Draco? What are you doing in here?" She asked with a small laugh, dropping her bag by the door before she walked up to the front of the classroom, "Is the Dueling Club moving back into the DADA room?"

"I think it'd be a real squeeze if we tried," he said with a grin as he pushed off the desk to meet her in the small open space, "I just thought it'd be a nice touch of nostalgia as we return for another year."

"It does bring back some good memories, to walk into the room set up like this," she said with a sweet smile as she looked around, "But you know we're going to have to clean this up, too, right? Harry wouldn't be very happy to come back to his classroom in disarray."

"It's worth it," he said, lifting his hand to push a strand of hair behind her ear with a comfortable pause as his other hand slid gently into hers and her gaze circled back to meet his again with a playfully questioning look. There was something behind that gaze that calmed him and quieted the world around them. It was a feeling she brought to him more often than she probably realized and it was everything he needed to continue, "You know, every time I think back to those first few months of the dueling club, I can't help but feel like we were meant to be brought together into this room; Like someone took the two most unlikely people at the surface level to ever even get along, and knew that deep down, there was a deeper connection than either of them could see."

Hermione felt like her mouth was a bit dry as his eyes bore into hers with a passionate intensity. Draco had always been one to be open and talk with raw emotion, but for some reason it still caught her off guard when he did, in a good way; It gripped at her heart and demanded her attention. And it also made her wonder what he was on about with the set up and the reminiscing. She thought for a moment that maybe he was just trying to seduce her in a classroom on the first day back for fun, but something about the way his eyes pierced through her told her otherwise. All thoughts of the missing door, and Harry's urgent request were gone from her mind and she was here, fully present, in this moment as she listened and waited for the explanation that was sure to come.

"I don't think I could quite put into words how grateful I was when I realized you wanted to see me as someone better than I had been, and that you were willing to give me that chance to _be_ someone better. And for the last two years I have felt like the luckiest man in the wizarding world to be able to share the experiences with you that I have; growing with you, being challenged by you, being intimate with you," he couldn't help the wink that followed that one, but he continued in stride, "Exploring the world together, living life. I don't think I ever deserved any of this, but I can't imagine my life without it; without you," and in that moment, Hermione's breath hitched and her body froze as she realized what was, indeed, happening, "And I think you know this, but I attribute so much of my happiness to the chance you took on seeing something more in me. And that is a happiness that I'd like to feel for a very long time."

Draco reached into his pocket as Hermione felt her hands start to shake. He pulled out a small, black velvet box and tears formed in the corners of her eyes, her hand lifting to her mouth. She'd pictured this moment a decent amount of times at this point in their relationship, never feeling the need to push it along and knowing when it was time, they'd know. But being here, now, it felt surreal; it felt perfect.

Draco released her hand and dropped down to one knee as he opened the box, an unnecessarily large diamond shining back at her in the dim lighting of the Defense Against the Dark Arts room, "Forever long, I was thinking. And I thought it felt right to do this where it all began, just as it all began, pillows and all."

"It's always the pillows," she got out in a whisper, the tears were falling softly down Hermione's cheeks now as she looked down at the man she had once hated, that she'd eventually found friendship in, and had grown to love and admire; the man that she couldn't imagine spending a day without for the rest of her life.

"Hermione Granger, you have given me more genuine joy in the last three years than I've ever had in my life. You are the light that pulled me from the dark. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

She was trying to focus on what he was saying, she wanted to remember the words; remember the inflections, but for some reason everything sounded muffled and far away as her brain screamed at her to pay attention. However his lips had stopped moving and after a brief hesitation to recognize that that must mean he'd finished his speech she finally moved her hand from her mouth, "Yes. I love you, Draco," she breathed, "Forever long."

His lips broke into a grin as he pulled the ring from its holder and placed it on her finger with his own uncharacteristically shaky hands before standing up and pulling her to him, cupping her face and brushing away the happy tears that still streaked her cheeks as their eyes met in a gaze of unwavering, unquestioning, bliss. It was a gaze that solidified that they both wanted this more than anything and that this moment would be one they'd reminisce about in the future. He leaned down and captured her lips as her hands snaked around his neck, holding him to her, refusing to let the moment end. They stood there for a few minutes — or a few hours, what was the concept of time in a moment like this? — before she finally pulled back as they shared another look of exhilaration for everything that lay ahead.

"Everyone knows, by the way," Draco said as his smile pulled into a signature smirk, his confidence returning in full force with her affirmation.

"Oh do they?" She laughed, arms still hanging loosely around his neck, feeling a way she'd only dreamed of feeling after a proposal as she looked at her best friend; her passionate lover; her future husband.

"That's why your door is gone," he said matter-of-factly, "If we're engaged, we can live together, I thought it'd be a subtle little hint that it doesn't seem like you caught," she shook her head with a huff of a laugh at his jibe, she certainly hadn't picked up on it at the time, "But all of your things are still in your room, I just asked McGonagall to seal it to put this whole plan in motion. We can choose either room, or she said they can make something in the middle if you'd prefer, closer to the entrance hall so you'd be closer to Gryffindor Tower and I'd still be close to the dungeons if it's a permanent move. Though she did assume you might choose my room in the dungeons since you spend so much time there anyway — something she mentioned in a chiding tone as a way of reminding me that she knows what goes on in her castle, mind you."

Hermione felt a small blush cross her cheeks at the thought of McGonagall noticing what she thought was a very inconspicuous routine of spending nights in the dungeons, "No, the Dungeons actually sounds like the perfect spot in the castle, it feels quite like home now," she said contentedly, "How did you know I'd go to McGonagall when the door was gone though? I could have gone anywhere. I could have gone looking for you."

"Because I know Hermione Granger and if something is out of place, the first thing she would do is go to the Headmistress and report the issue so it can be resolved. Structure first, personal decisions come after," she gave him a look and he chuckled, leaning back down for another solid kiss, "Nothing wrong with being a little predictable."

"I'll show you unpredictable later tonight," she said coyly, her hands moving suggestively to his chest.

"Well I'm going to hold you to that promise now," he said, stealing one more kiss before grabbing her hand again, "By the way, the staff party later tonight is actually an engagement party," he started to lead her from the room, knowing he'd have to come back later to clean up.

"You really trusted that I would say yes, didn't you?"

"Not a doubt in my mind," he lied convincingly, like only a true Slytherin could.

They shared a grin as they went to join their colleagues for a welcome dinner and engagement party, leaving the DADA classroom together, as they'd done so many times before. But now, a picture of their future was unfolding before their eyes as they walked the corridors to the Great Hall, hands interlaced and swinging lightly between them as Draco told her about how he'd pulled her father aside one night in Hampstead after she'd gone to bed to ask him for his blessing and in response her father had pulled him in for a delighted hug as he teared up slightly at the thought of his daughter marrying someone that brought such a spark to her own eyes. And then he'd sat him down and given him a very long, fatherly talk about the responsibilities and commitment of marriage. Something Draco had reassured him he was quite prepared for and quite looking forward to. Because there was nothing about a lifetime with the woman next to him that could ever make him question his decision. She would always be the person that gave him a reason to want to experience life again and a reason to keep pushing forward on his journey to be the better person she'd seen in him three years ago. The _only_ future he wanted, was one that began with her.

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

**The End**

O-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N:** Okay, this is really the end now! For those of you that had already read my "final" chapter, I just wanted to add a little note that I always wanted to leave it open ended with the intention of writing a sequel that would take place the following year and be more of an adventure plot. However, I also couldn't get past feeling like it wasn't totally wrapped up without an epilogue and then as I was laying in bed the other night, an epilogue idea came to me that could do both, so I tried to write this in a way that gave me my wrap-up, and left myself open to writing the sequel I've had in mind in the future, if I can just sit down and write it.

Thank you so much to everyone for reading and reviewing, I've really enjoyed writing this story for you!

Love & Lumos - Gin


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